


Kings and Queens

by QuinnCliff



Series: Heart's a Mess [2]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Anal Sex, Angst, Biting, Blood Drinking, Human Greg, Human John, Jealous Sherlock, M/M, Marking, Mild Language, Oral Sex, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, POV Original Character, Possessive Behavior, Possessive Sherlock, Romance, Thriller, Vampire Mycroft, Vampire Sherlock, Violence, Younger John
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-29
Updated: 2014-09-01
Packaged: 2018-01-21 07:37:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 26,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1542818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuinnCliff/pseuds/QuinnCliff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six months after the start of their unusual relationship, John and Sherlock will have to deal with problems greater than themselves. Plus, could a lonely vampire interfere with their love?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Zombie

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Polski available: [Królowie i Książęta](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3527342) by [Luthien_00](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luthien_00/pseuds/Luthien_00)



> Olá fandom!
> 
> Here we go again, keeping up with John and Sherlock through a world that doesn't seem to enjoy seeing them together.  
> So, this part of the series will be a bit different for two reasons:
> 
> First, the POVs will alternate between John and an original character. Don't worry though, Sherlock is still here enlightening us with his imposing presence lol
> 
> Second, this story will focus more on the vampire world, we're going to have more action and thriller, but fear not, romance and a bit of fluff is always sneaking around without being called haha
> 
> This fic is still not betad or brit-picked, so sorry any mistakes! Hope you enjoy it ;*

 

_“But you see, it's not me, it's not my family. In your head, in your head they are fighting, with their tanks and their bombs, and their bones and their guns. In your head, in your head, they are crying...”_

 

It hurt. Coming back hurt like hell. There is no worst pain than to see your people starving and suffering, going through so much misery by the hands of their own fellow countrymen. And to know that he could have been there, feeling the same physical and mental pain filled him with guilty. It was not right to feel that, he knew, he didn’t chose to leave his country and even if he did what would he be able to do anyway? He was a scared child. But now, now he was right to feel half guilty. He just hoped that in the end things would work out as they should so his people would thrive. It was going to be a long and struggling way till there though.

“I hate this”, he hissed while they left the streets and entered on the gigantic marble corridor that led to the castle. Nothing had changed since the last he had been there.

“I know. Me too, brother. But what can we do, uh?” His sister walked beside him, large and firm steps like his own. After a while she looked at him, he stared back, “Try not to look so annoyed or they’ll realize. Remember: if Mycroft find out we’re dead and if the Devreme find out death will be the easiest thing for us. So, let’s play it cool for both sides, ignore all our principles. I know it’s hard, but well, we got no fucking choice.”

Ioan sighed, unfortunately his twin was right. It was a dirty business they just couldn’t run away from, looking from outside one may think they were the bad guys, but looking closely one would see they were actually the victims. Ioan didn’t like to think of himself as a victim or a villain, he just did what he was told until the day where he was going to be able to do what he wanted. He had true faith that this day would arrive eventually.

They were arriving at the copper gates that was on their way to the damn castle. There was a guardian there, dressed in one of the purple cloaks that meant he worked for royalty, though there were no such thing as that anymore. The Devreme loved to think they were still royals, but that was lost with time, no vampire in the world recognized them as their superior, in fact, some vampires didn’t even know they existed at all. They lived reclosed in the castle on the hills, hurting and slavering their own people. Yes, they were powerful anyway.  But only Romanian vampires knew that, only they suffered it. The humans that lived around the castle knew that too, but they thought they were only a very wealthy family that were descendants from the Prince. Well, that much was true of course, but they were not only his progenies, they were also the oldest vampires of the world. They started it all.

“What is your business here?” the guardian asked in Romanian.

“We came to talk with the Devreme about foreign matters”, Iolanda said glaring at the guard. Her sister could be very intimidating when she wanted, but the man didn’t step back.

“Which matters?”

“That’s our problem. We’re being expected.” She said using her authoritarian tone, “Let us pass now or you’ll be the one with matters to deal.”

Ioan smirked as the man resignedly opened the gate. They got inside the fortress that looked exactly the same since they were there six months ago. The same sad people walking by, the same suspicious stares, the same filthy smell, the same darkness. Ioan couldn’t help the scowl that took over his face, and he walked faster trying to enter the castle before he did something silly.

“Ioan, hold on”, Iolanda exclaimed quickly beside him again, “If you’re going to meet them with this frown then you better stay outside and let me handle it, okay?”

“No. I’m fine, let me just have this until we enter there, please. You know I’m a great actor.” He said trying to sound amusing but actually sounding annoying.

“We need to be, right? Otherwise we’d be six feet under the bloody ground by now”, she touched his shoulder in a form of incentive.

When they finally managed to get inside the castle, Ioan put his loyal servant mask, and Iolanda had a wide respectful smile on her tanned face. They were received as usual, by the extremely skinny and pale duenna, also wearing the ugly purple cloak as a signal of allegiance to the family. “Ioan and Iolanda. They are expecting you. Please, follow me.”

The siblings looked at each other and the habitual ‘Good Luck, bro/sis’ was invisibly shared. They walked through the immensity of the place, not even caring to observe all the paintings and statues, they didn’t impress them anymore. The duenna asked them to stop in front a huge red door, she entered there and after twenty seconds was back with a fake smile on her bony face, “Please come on in.”

The twins did as they were told and as soon as they were inside the room that uncomfortable sensation of being scrutinized by four pairs of red eyes started. The duenna gestured them to sit down on two chairs that faced the table where the family was all sat with their usual blank faces. Ioan had to make some effort to remember who was who, he always forgot, though his sister had told him a thousand times. The youngest one was Catalina, she was around five hundred and eighty years old; her mother was Elisabeta, and it was said she was six hundred and eighteen years old; her uncles, the twins, known as Emil and Eugen, were six hundred and seventy years old. They all had red eyes that marked their original vampire blood, and completely white hair due their age, though their faces still kept the aspect from when they were turned.

“Your graces, we bring news from the United Kingdom.” Iolanda said with a small bow of her head. She was always the one to speak, Ioan only opened his mouth if extremely necessary. He hated to talk.

“Yes, of course. Please feel free to begin.” Emil spoke with a curious and clean tone that actually didn’t mean anything.

“The Government started a new project. It is sponsored, secured and guarded by Mycroft Holmes, as you know the man we’re working for, so you are certain that our information is accurate.”

“What is this project about?” Catalina asked, her tone’s as indifferent as her face.

“We don’t know all the details, but is basically a research for a cure. A cure for vampirism.”

When Iolanda finished speaking, all the Devreme were laughing. Ioan found the sound cold and empty. He wished he could just tear their heads out of their disgusting bodies, but he kept his face impassive.

“That’s ridiculous!” Elisabeta nearly shouted, “We are not sick to need a cure!”

“Are they having any progress?” Eugen asked, and then they were all laughing harder and louder.

Iolanda gave them a crooked smile, Ioan could see she was struggling to keep her face respectful and not rip their guts off, “Actually yes.”

They all stopped laughing and stared at her with expressions of unbelief for the first time since they started this information trade. Emil tilted his head to Iolanda continue her explanation, “It appears that they are working on our blood samples mixed with bats samples, they are comparing it to rabies. Seems like they think the cure can be found in the same way the cure for rabies was.”

“Are they comparing us to animals?” Elisabeta exclaimed, standing and groaning with anger.

“Sit down, Elisabeta, we need to be more rational and less impulsive about the matter”, Emil said.

“You said Mycroft Holmes is patronizing it. I wonder why, since he’s a vampire like us. What are his plans?” Catalina calmly questioned.

“I don’t know, my lady”, Iolanda answered her, and she was being honest.

“I know”, Ioan spoke for the first time, voice low and deep, without too much cordiality. They all focused their attention on him, including his sister who looked confused, “And the reason is something you can act on.”

“Tell us then, what are you waiting for?” Eugen sounded impatient.

“I will, if… You provide free blood to all the starving vampires living outside. They smell rotten flesh, they are almost eating each other. It’s abysmal! Give them food and I’ll tell you.” Ioan was always a brave man and warrior, but he had never had the guts to face the Devreme before.

Elisabeta and Eugen gave a mock laugh, “We can rip the truth out of you in a blink of an eye, boy. Tell us now or you’ll wish y—“

“Stop it, mother. I think it’s a fair request.” Catalina said turning to look at her bewildered mother. “We should foster the people. It’s our responsibility.”

“It’s true. Soon they’ll start polluting and causing us great problems because of it.” Emil talked to his family.

“We don’t do it to keep them under control, you know that, w—“ Eugen started but Emil cut him off.

“Yes, but too much pain will turn the tide against us. I say it’s a fair trade, young Ioan.”

“I agree, uncle.” Catalina nodded and then looked at her mother who looked mad and unbridled.

“No way I’m agreeing with any of this. You don’t even know if what he’s going to say it’s true!” She said.

“I guarantee it is, madam. And not only that, but I assure you will be able to stop all of this research with the information I’ll provide.” Ioan said with all the confidence in the world.

“Elisabeta, Eugen.” Emil’s tone was severe and ice cold. He glared at his relatives, and for some seconds looks like they were having a mental discussion. After that, the older woman and his twin nodded their heads sighing heavily, clearly not happy. “Very well, Ioan, you have my word.”

Emil stood up and reached his hand out for Ioan to take it. He did, and their shake was firm and trustful. Ioan and Iolanda have learned since they were toddlers that when a Devreme promised something to a vampire, they were meant to be keep it, that was part of the legacy the Prince left for them. Vampire brotherhood above all else. At least that’s what the legends said; lately Ioan hasn’t been seeing much brotherhood between vampires, especially here. But he chose to believe the man, he seemed right enough about it.

“Fair well”, Ion said. “Mycroft Holmes wants the cure because he no longer wishes to be a vampire. He fell in love with a human.”

The family looked at each other, suspicious and curious. Iolanda stared with her lips parted in surprise. “Who’s the human?” Catalina asked.

“Gregory Lestrade.”


	2. The sound of silence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there!
> 
> Thank you all for the kudos and comments, it means a looot!
> 
> Now, a very special thanks to Nightfall24 that revised and edited this chapter for me. You're the best, girl! The story is coherent now thanks to you haha
> 
> Hope you all enjoy it ;*

 

_“Hello darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again. Because a vision softly creeping left its seeds while I was sleeping. And the vision that was planted in my brain still remains within the sound of silence.”_

 

Odd enough the sun was in the sky when the twins arrived at London. The familiar black car was waiting for them outside the airport as expected. Iolanda hadn’t talked to Ioan since they left Romania: she was clearly upset for what he told the Devreme. When they entered the car and it started moving, she finally exploded, “What the fuck was that, Ioan?” She shouted in Romanian so the driver wouldn’t understand if he heard something.

“It had to be done.” Ioan simply said, looking outside the car’s window.

“No, it didn’t! You know what they’ll do! Boss is going to be desperate. It’s all going to be a fucking mess! Whose heads do you think are going to roll first?!” She growled, rubbing her temple with her hands.

“He won’t know it was us, Iolanda.”

“What? Of course he will!” She looked at him with an expression of confused disbelief.

“He doesn’t know we know about the project. Plus, all the other servants know about his relationship with the cop even though he tries to hide it uselessly.”

“Yes, but who just arrived from a fucking conference with the Devreme? What a terrible coincidence, right? The grizzly man is kidnapped by the people Ioan and Iolanda just visited! Oh no, who did it?” Iolanda said exasperated, throwing her hands in the air.

“Don’t be daft, sister, it’s obvious the Devreme will use someone else to kidnap the DI and make the trade. They don’t like to stay in evidence, remember? Also you know they have many ‘purple cloaks’ around here to do their dirty works for them. The boss will destroy the project and all the lab work, they will give his boyfriend back and that’s it. No one will blame us, no one will even suspect us.” Ioan folded his arms and closed his eyes, he needed blood.

“I hope you’re right, otherwise we’re fucked.” She still seemed pretty angry.

The rest of the trip was quiet, both siblings too annoyed with each other to talk. When they were passing through the village before Mycroft’s Manor, Ioan asked the driver to stop the car. He was going to hunt. Iolanda chose to ignore her brother and kept staring outside the window with a bored look on her face. Ioan got out of the car with no goodbyes. He truly didn’t care about anything other than a good place to bite now.

Ioan had promised himself many years ago that he would only drain people near death. However, if there were none in the closest hospitals, then he would feed on old people. He thought it was only fair, after all, young humans had too much to life to live still, and Ioan learned to respect every single living creature in the world, despite his own nature to harm them. Some might think that Ioan didn’t care about humans, but that was not true, he kept his distance for their own good. He also didn’t hold any rancor from them, all the pain he had in his life was caused by vampires, after all.

He was content when he found two people in a coma in the village’s small heath unit. He did the old trick of biting the person’s joints instead of the neck, which raised less suspicion since they usually had needles there anyway. When he finished with them and heard the beep showing their death, he quickly jumped out of the window and walked away calmly like a cat with a full belly.

He went directly to his room on the servant house when he arrived at the Manor. They both needed to meet Mycroft at his office in half an hour to relay the information they had collected in Romania. So he put water in the tub and got inside it. He loved this part of his day, where he could just disconnect from the world and disappear in his own silence. He was always like that, even when he was human. Iolanda, however, was the opposite, always talkative and open with people. Since they turned though, she changed a bit, isolating more but still better at communications than Ioan.

When he was done, all washed, dried and dressed, Iolanda knocked on his door. He opened it, they nodded at each other and left the house. Mycroft’s car was already outside; he probably arrived only a little while after the siblings. They entered the manor and went straight to the office on the last floor. Ioan was completely calm but he could perceive Iolanda was slightly tense. She knocked on the large mahogany door. “Sir?”

“Come on in.” Their boss’ voice called.

He sat behind a huge wooden table, hands clasped and his back leaned on the chair; he looked tranquil, with no unusual worries. “Good afternoon, Mr. Holmes”, they both said at the same time.

Mycroft gave that polite smile that didn’t mean much, “Good afternoon, please sit down.” He waited until the twins were seated before continuing, “So, did you have a good time in your motherland?”

“It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible either. Thanks for asking, sir.” Iolanda said with a cordial grin.

“Good. Now, what information do you have for me?”

“No big news really, sir. The only important thing we got was about their control over some facilities here in the UK.” Iolanda crossed her legs and continued, “They are using some warehouses to keep humans arrested until their contacts take them to feed the blood traffic.”

Mycroft sighed, “Do you have the addresses?”

“Yes, sir. Right here.” Iolanda took a folded paper from her pockets and put it on the table. “There are three in total.”

That information was true. It was quite easy for them to sneak into the passages inside the castle so they could hear whispers from vampires who worked for the family. Sometimes all they had to do was talk with the right people who were easily swayed by promises of a fat paycheck.

“Very well, I’ll have them checked and cleaned.” Mycroft took the paper and read them for some seconds, “Anything else?”

“No, sir,” they both said, although Iolanda seemed calmer.

“You may go then.” Mycroft said as he picked up the phone to call whoever would solve the warehouse problems.

They left the room, and Ioan observed Iolanda rubbing her hand on her eyes while they walked down the stairs. “Feeling better?” He asked in Romanian.

“Not much, not yet. Let’s wait for the shit to hit the fan, and then ask me.” So she was still mad at him. Oh well, Ioan couldn’t find too much willingness in his bones to care right now.

She quickened her steps leaving him behind. Ioan decided to go to the library, get a book and sit in the garden to read. Mycroft always gave them a few days off after a long trip, though he really didn’t need to. When he arrived at the library, Ioan found Isadora cleaning one of the book shelves while whistling some random song; she seemed happy. “Hello”, Ioan said with a low tone, stopping behind her.

“Oh hi there, Ioan”, she gave him a nervous smile. “How was your trip?”

He didn’t answer, just walked around picking books out of the shelves without even seeing their titles. She vampire looked at him for a while but then went back to work. Ioan knew the other servants weren’t fans of him and Iolanda. They thought the twins were weird and way too quiet, closed off even, which was true. Ioan and his sister never cared about making friends, because they had learned not to trust anyone but themselves a long time ago.

“You seem happy”, he said, taking the girl by surprise.

“Oh yes. Er…” She cleared her throat, “John and Mr. Holmes are going to spend a few days here.”

“And that’s good because…” He arched his eyebrows.

“Well, I really like John’s company. He’s a sweetheart. The first master that was kind enough to talk to us properly.” She said with a nostalgic smile.

“He’s not our master.” Ioan said with a disdainful tone.

“Well, he is when he’s here.” She said turning her face back to the shelf she was cleaning.

“I don’t understand why Mr. Holmes let a human in the middle of all this. You should have seen him in the lake house, so scared and disgusted. I could see the fear in his eyes. I seriously don’t get why they want to put him in this mad world of ours.” Ioan said honestly.

Even now he remembered the sympathy he felt for the poor boy the night he had to tear Victoria Holmes apart. He was way too young and fragile to be involved in the vampire’s dirty business.

“They love each other.” The servant said, now staring at Ioan like what he said was ridiculous.

“So you find this to be a justification?” He had many books in his arms now, so he walked back near the girl with a severe look on his face.

“He made his own choices, and I think that love is worth anything, yes.” Her voice was low and anxious.

“Then you’re nothing but a fool.”

He sighed and left the library without looking back.


	3. Unwritten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there!
> 
> Thank you a looot for the kudos/comments/bookmarks! They are all very important to me!
> 
> I want to thank Nightfall24 for reviewing and editing this chapter, also for always supporting me. You're great!
> 
> Hope you enjoy it ;*

 

_“I break tradition, sometimes my tries are outside the lines. We've been conditioned to not make mistakes, but I can't live that way.”_

 

John was really excited to come back to the manor after so many months away. He had finished school with great grades thanks to Sherlock’s teachings. When Mycroft called and asked for his detective to help on a case – something important, John heard them saying – he was extremely happy. It would be nice to have a few days off before he started Uni, plus he could talk to Isadora. He loved Sherlock’s company more than anything, but he missed chatting with others.

When the car pulled up in front of the familiar manor, John’s face lit up. Sherlock took his hand and squeezed, John knew what it meant. Sherlock wanted John to be happy of course, but he was not a big fan when John was happy for reasons that weren’t the detective himself. John had to get used to the possessiveness and jealousy the vampire had towards him. The blonde boy squeezed the man’s hand back reassuringly, “How long are you going to be away?”

“I don’t know, I hope not too long. Mycroft didn’t want to say anything over the phone.” Sherlock said with a tired tone. He liked to solve cases he chose, not the ones his older brother gave to him but he had no choice this time, John knew, because Mycroft had helped him a lot in the last few months.

They got out of the car and held hands while heading towards the front door. John turned to look at the beautiful garden, nodded to Bethany and Louise who were pruning some bushes, with big hats on their dark haired heads, they nodded back. Then John saw the vampire that had caused him very bad dreams during the weeks after that traumatizing night. In the dreams Ioan was always wearing a black hood that covered his face except for his dark brown eyes, which were shinning and staring right through John, and then he would smile a bloody grin that always woke John up breathless and shivering. Sherlock would hold him and tell him everything was okay.

Ioan was reading a book but looked back at him; his expression was as blank as he remembered. John’s attention was caught by Sherlock’s voice, “Everything okay, my love?”

“Yes, baby. I just love this place”, John smiled tilting his head up to kiss his lover’s chin.

Sherlock didn’t seem very convinced as he grabbed John by his shoulders. Before they reached to open the door, Isadora did for them from the inside with a big smile on her freckled face. John ran and hugged her tight; she was so cold compared to him. “Hi Isa! Missed you!”

She was a bit shy, trying to act respectful near John and Sherlock, but there was more informality than politeness on her tone, “Hi John, I missed you two. Mr. Holmes, good afternoon.”

“Good afternoon”, Sherlock answered coldly. “John, I’ll go upstairs to talk with my tiring brother. Isadora, make sure John is well fed and rested.”

Isadora nodded but John pouted, “I can take care of myself, you know?”

“I know, but a vampire can always have a better eye on you when I’m not around, alright?” Sherlock said taking him by the jaw and kissing him softly on the lips. “I’ll be right back.”

“Say hi to Mycroft for me”, John teased.

“You wish.” Sherlock said while walking up the stairs.

John and Isadora chuckled. “Come, John, we prepared a good snack for you”, Isa said gesturing him to the kitchen. John was greeted by a table full of cakes, biscuits, breads, cheese, ham, and of course tea. The blonde clapped his hands in excitement and quickly sat at the table. Oh, how he loved coming here. Most of the times at home he only ordered take away food, rarely would he try and cook something and even if he wanted to there were never much supplies in the kitchen cabinets.

“Bloody fantastic. Thank you so much!” He exclaimed.

“It’s our pleasure,” she grinned.

“So,” John bit into a piece of bread with ham, “How’s your family?”

“They’re well. Went to the village yesterday to buy new clothes for you.”

“Oh no. I’m flattered, but they didn’t have to, seriously.” John said with a mouth full of food. John was always surprised by their nurture and caring, but he felt a bit guilty for having people doing everything for him.

“We love pleasing you, John. You’re always so nice to us. Melody asked me to tell you that you’re the best human she has ever met.” Isadora said while organizing some things around the kitchen.

John blushed with the compliment, “Oh my, that’s very gentle of her. But why isn’t she here to tell me that?”

“She and Patricia are cleaning the pool, Mr. Holmes’ orders. Guess we’re going to have more visitors this week.”

“Really? Who else?”

“I’m not sure if he’ll come, but usually when the master asks us to clean the pool and the last floor suite, it’s because he’s supposed to.” She said almost whispering.

“Who’s he?” John was really curious now.

“Greg Lestrade. He’s a… Friend of Mr. Holmes”, Isadora gave John a ’you know what I mean’ look.

“Oh!” John thought for a second, “Oh oh! Really? Is he a vampire too?”

“No, he’s human like you. But he never actually got to enter the house, something always happens and all the work we have cleaning the pool and tiding the room is in vain”, Isa sighed.

“That’s interesting”, John took a sip of tea, “What do you think happens?”

“Th—“

A familiar cold voice cut Isa off, “Not our business, is it Isadora?”

John turned around on his chair to look at Ioan. He had his back against the white wall next to the door, arms folded and a book beneath his armpit; he was wearing a black jacket, grey shirt, very blue jeans, and his long straight hair was pulled into a half ponytail. John took another sip of his tea, trying to hide his discomfort with the imposing vampire so near to him.

“Well, yes”, Isadora looked down and continued her work on the kitchen’s balcony.

“Which book is this?” John asked, trying to break the ice.

Ioan frowned at him for a moment, then took the book and showed him the cover without speaking a word. “Death in the Nile, one of my favorites by Ms. Christie. She was a genius, don’t you think?” John spoke giving the vampire a friendly smile.

“She was okay”, Ioan answered with a low voice; John noticed it wasn’t as deep as Sherlock’s, but had a hoarse quality that made it just as impressive. “My favorite is Curtain.”

“It’s fantastic, but I find it way too sad. I’d rather read books with happy endings, life is already too tragic in my opinion”, John said sadly, cutting a piece of cake and eating it.

“It’s realistic. I don’t find it sad actually, it’s acceptable.” Ioan stepped closer as if to take a chair near John but he stopped suddenly when Sherlock’s voice filled the room.

“John”, his vampire growled looking in Ioan’s direction. Sherlock stood between the two and grabbed John’s shoulders. “I’ll have to leave now. Mycroft is going with me. We’ll solve some problems involving blood traffic, he needs me to track the source of the whole thing in London and the surrounding areas. So I’ll probably be away for a couple of days.” Sherlock kneeled so he was at John’s sitting height, “Don’t worry, my love. There is no threat to you now, you’ll be safe here. Soon you’ll have a human for company, so you won’t be suffocated by vampires. Alright? I’ll try to be as fast as I can.”

“YOU don’t worry, I know I’ll be safe. Go on and catch the bad guys, baby. Then you come back to me.” John cupped his vampire face and kissed him deeply on the mouth not really caring who was watching.

“I love you.” Sherlock said stroking the boy’s cheek with his fingertips.

“I love you too.” John bit the tip of his nose.

Sherlock stood and narrowed his eyes at Ioan. Without another word the consulting detective vampire walked away.

 


	4. Some Nights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey people!
> 
> Thank you all for the comments/kudos/bookmarks! (:
> 
> And a big thanks to Nightfall24 for editing this chapter! ;*
> 
> Hope you all enjoy it!

 

_“Well, some nights I wish that this all would end, ‘cause I could use some friends for a change.”_

 

“I’m going with them. Mycroft said I could be useful with my Romanian,” Iolanda said while brushing her long dark brown hair. “Do you want to come? I think another pair of fangs is always helpful.”

“No, thanks. Not in the mood,” Ioan was leaning on the balcony’s counter in the servant’s house.

“ _You_ are not in the mood for some action? That’s weird,” Iolanda still looked upset but her tone was amused.

“I actually think we’re going to have some action here soon,” he said folding his arms.

“What do you mean?” she looked confused.

“Boss’ boyfriend is coming to the manor,” Ioan spoke in Romanian, “which means the Devreme will try to find him here.”

“They are not crazy enough to come here.”

“You think so, sister? They are few in number here in the UK, true, but the ‘purple cloaks’ are older and stronger, they would defeat any of boss’ guards,” Ioan said with a darker tone. “Plus you know they know this place, they just didn’t have enough reason to come here.”

Iolanda looked away for a moment. “Let’s say this happens, then you have another reason to come with me! If neither of us are around, then they will have even less reasons to suspect us!”

Ioan rolled his eyes, “think, sister! If I’m around, everyone will see how hard I tried to stop boss’ lover from being taken away!”

Ioalanda scowled, folding her arms. “Is this the only reason you want to stay?”

“What other reason could I possibly have, Iolanda?”

Iolanda shook her head and put her crimson coat on. “Well, whatever. Keep an eye open, brother. I’ll probably be back in a few days. See you then.”

Ioan nodded and watched as his sister left the bedroom. He thought it would be good to stay away from her for a while. He did enjoy her company, he did, but he was tired of the same small talks, the same empty looks, the same coldness that radiated from her. To be quite honest, Ioan was exhausted of being around vampires because they didn’t add anything to his life. They were always so serious and frozen, he couldn’t feel any life coming from them, it was like he was around empty shadows that had no purpose there. Ioan had never asked for this life; he loved being human but his sister, however, was much more comfortable being a vampire. Two hundred and thirty years like this and he still felt sad at night when he wished he could just close his eyes and not wake up anymore.

Talking with John, earlier that afternoon, he felt a warmth in his chest that he didn’t know he was still capable of feeling. It felt good, incredible even. He could feel light and heat emanating from the blonde boy, it was beautiful. For a moment, Ioan understood why Sherlock would risk bringing John into his world, all that innocence and vulnerability; plus, the honest eyes and smiles were too precious not to have around. His mind came back to its senses though, and he realized the detective vampire was still being stupid for letting such a precious treasure be exposed like that. He should know vampires were not trustworthy and they could harm John whenever they liked.

Ioan looked to the garden and saw the black cars leaving. His vampire eyes saw John looking through the kitchen’s window, his head tilted to the left side and a relaxed expression on his face. Ioan thought about continuing the conversation they were having, but he also remembered Sherlock’s stare, as if warning him to stay away from the boy. Of course Ioan understood, he would also be possessive if he had John. So the Romanian vampire chose to just calmly walk back to the Manor, but instead of going to the kitchen, where he knew the boy would be talking with Isadora, he decided to sit at the large dark piano near the living room’s stairs. It had been a while since he last played.

He closed his eyes and let his fingers dance on the instrument. Playing always made him feel a bit human. He recalled when he used to sit to play with his mother before everything happened, before his house was burned down and his family was torn apart. The soft sound of music was like tender caresses to his sharp ears, his mind was in a comfortable boat sailing in a calm blue ocean.

“Moonlight Sonata,” he heard a voice next to him.

He opened his eyes and saw John sitting on the floor, legs crossed and hands clasping near his knees. His cheeks were flushed and his bright dark blue eyes were shinning at him. He looked so delicate and fragile. Ioan couldn’t remember the last time he felt the urge to protect someone like he was feeling with John. “Yes,” he simply said.

“You played beautifully,” John said, smiling gently at him.

“Thank you,” Ioan said in a raspy voice, nodding his head and standing up. He should probably go somewhere else, away from the blonde boy.

“Does my presence annoy you?” He heard John’s voice behind him as he was walking upstairs to nowhere in particular.

He turned his head to the boy; he wanted to shout that of course not, he was the one that should annoy John. “No,” it was all he could say.

“It doesn’t seem like it. You’re always running away from me,” John looked right through him with honest and demanding eyes.

Ioan came back to stand where he was, near the boy. He folded his arms and stared at the ceiling for some moments, thinking about what he was going to say. How could he explain to John that he was doing him a favor by staying away? Vampires were not trustworthy. How could he tell John that he should run away from Sherlock before he decided to turn him into one of them? He didn’t have time to say anything of those things though.

“It’s okay. Sherlock doesn’t own me, you know? I do what I want, you don’t need to be afraid of his jealously. He will respect me if I decide to be friends with you. I really like talking to vampires. You are quite fascinating, really.” John stood up and put his hands on his waist, an amused look on his face.

“Why? Why do you find us fascinating?” Ioan frowned, he just couldn’t understand. “We’re nothing but hungry corpses that walk around killing and harming things around us.”

John shook his head, his expression serious now. Ioan found it extremely adorable the way his light brows quilled. John sighed, “you think so low of your own kind. You should see yourself with my eyes. You’d realize how beautiful you all are, how imposing and powerful! Yes, you are capable of destroying and harming, but you can also do incredible and good things with what was given to you. If you think of yourself so horribly, then you should change it. Perhaps you could try being different from most vampires if they bother you so much.”

Ioan couldn’t speak for a moment. So John was much more than he thought. The human boy just showed how wise and brave he was. Speaking like this face to face with a vampire, and saying all those things…things that made sense, things that Ioan had ignored for so long, maybe because he had accommodated to the situation, or he just didn’t care. He stepped closer to John instinctively.

“Are you okay?” John asked in a worried tone, touching Ioan’s right arm.

The vampire felt something strange happening in his stomach from the warm touch. “I’ve never been better.” It was true, but at the same time, he had never felt worst.


	5. Never Think

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there!
> 
> Thank you all for the kudos/comments/bookmarks!
> 
> Plus, a big thanks to Nightfall24 for betaing this chapter. A mental bear hug to you! lol
> 
> Sorry for the delay! Hope you all enjoy it (;

 

 “ _I should never think what's in your heart, what's in our home, so I won't.”_

 

John woke up with the sun light in his eyes and some hurried steps outside his bedroom. He stood up and went to the bathroom to take a quick shower and brush his teeth. He left the room wearing his cream jumper and jeans, his blonde hair a bit mussed. Melody and Patricia were running in and out of a room on the last floor with some bags and boxes in their arms. When Melanie came by with a black suitcase in her arms, John called.

“Oi! Melanie, what is going on?”

“Mr. Lestrade is here,” she smiled at him and kept walking hurriedly.

He had been hearing this name a lot lately. He knew that Gregory Lestrade was a DI in New Scotland Yard, human and Mycroft’s lover (although this was supposed to be a secret) for five years now. John went downstairs and found Ioan standing by the door with his arms folded and eyes narrowed. He was watching something going on outside the house. “Everything okay?” John asked walking towards him.

“Yes,” he said turning his head to look down at John when the boy stood by his side. “Did you sleep well?”

“Oh yes, thanks!” John lazily smiled at him. Ioan smiled back.

John looked out and saw a grey haired man saying something to one of the security personnel. After some seconds, he jogged to the manor. Ioan snorted and turned around, walking upstairs without saying a word. John just kept standing there waiting for Lestrade to come in. “Hello there,” the blonde boy said.

“Hi,” the older man said, taking his sun glasses off. “You’re John, right?”

“Yes, and you’re Greg. Nice to meet you,” John said reaching his hand out.

Greg took it. “Nice to meet you too. It’s great to have another human around this place,” he sighed.

“Is that why you finally decided to come inside and stay for a while?” John asked before even realized that the words implied he knew more than he should.

Greg closed the door behind him, “well, to be honest yes.” He simply answered.

Suddenly Isadora’s voice echoed through the living room “Breakfast is ready.”

“Good, I’m starving,” Lestrade said.

“Me too, let’s eat,” John agreed.

They were seated at the table with the usual number of delights the girls prepared for them, which always made John extremely thankful and a bit guilty. “Thanks, Isadora. You’re fantastic.”

Lestrade was eating already, he looked starved. John stared at him for a moment, and he noticed that the man looked tired. John didn’t know much about him but he could clearly see that the exhaustion wasn’t from the trip, but from life. Maybe his work was tiring him? Maybe knowing his boyfriend secret and not being able to tell anyone about it? Or maybe he was just worried about Mycroft being away from him? John himself was worried about Sherlock; he already missed his detective vampire.

“What’s the matter?” Lestrade asked and John realized he was still staring at the man.

“Oh, sorry. It’s… Well, you look tired,” he spat.

The older man laughed, “aren’t you?”

John’s brow furrowed, “what do you mean?”

“Look, there’s no point in pretending here, is there? You know I date Mycroft and I know you date Sherlock. We’re their humans, and it’s bloody tiring. Especially when they keep you as a secret,” Lestrade said taking a sip from his ice tea.

“Keep us as a secret? Sherlock doesn’t hide me away. I mean, he’s possessive alright, but we don’t try to keep it a secret, everybody who knows us knows we are a couple.” John said while biting his delicious toast.

Lestrade hesitated for a moment, he seemed quite surprised. “Well, that’s great for you, mate, but with Myc things are different. He says it’s to protect me from his public enemies, which I think is noble but silly. I know how to defend myself.”

John couldn’t figure out what to say, so he just kept eating. They stayed in an uncomfortable silence for some minutes until Lestrade broke it with a voice full of annoyance. “I heard a lot about you, John, that whole mess involving Victoria. I’m sorry you had to go through that. We humans are always caught in the middle of their shit.”

“There are lessons in all terrible situations, right?” John tried to give him a reassuring smile, but he saw that the man didn’t buy it. “How did you meet Mycroft?”

Lestrade’s eyes were suddenly glazing. “It was thanks to your vampire actually. Sherlock was going through a dark period of his life, out of control and wild and Victoria was too busy with her own fears to take care of his issues.” John shivered with Lestrade’s words. He didn’t know that about Sherlock, “and we got him busted. Mycroft came to ask, no, to order us to free him if we knew what was better for us, and I confronted him. I said it was obvious that there was something very wrong about his little brother and he said that I should forget everything. I didn’t, even after I let Sherlock go. I kept tracking and watching him, I was sure that he was hiding something and then Mycroft caught me off guard. I thought he was going to kill me, but he only looked at me and said ‘you’re a stubborn fox, aren’t you?’ and he kissed me.”

John tilted his head, smirking, “did you kiss him back?”

“No, I punched him really hard on that smug face of his.” At that, the two humans laughed. “But he kept coming after me. Sometimes I’d open my flat’s window and find his black car there. At work was the same thing, always that bloody black car. Until one day I decided to talk to him and well, it happened.”

John smiled. He was happy to know the beginning of their love story, but his stomach was still boiling with that piece of information about Sherlock’s past. He didn’t want to ruin Lestrade’s mood but he had to ask, “why was Sherlock like that? He… Well, he never said anything to me about that.”

Lestrade passed a hand through his hair, “I understand him not telling you; he probably thinks you’ll love him less if you know it. I know it’s absurd, but these vampires are full of mysteries, John, things they keep away from us for our own ‘protection’. Then, if we try to sneak it away from them, they’ll get mad and leave for the night, and you know…”

John clasped his hands, looking down. Sherlock knew everything about him and he thought it was only fair that he knew everything about Sherlock. John was not made of glass; he could handle the truth even if it hurt. He would love his detective in all his darkness and light, in all his weakness and strengths, in all his vices and virtues. His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden buzz of his phone inside his pocket. When he took it to see the name that appeared on the screen, a big smile spread through his face.

**Is everything okay? I miss you terribly. –SH**

“Speak of the devil”, John said cheerfully to Lestrade.

**Fine, and u? Miss u more. –JW**

Some seconds later the phone buzzed again.

**It’s a boring business, but it will end soon I hope, then I’ll finally come back to you.- SH**

**I hardly think it’s possible for you to miss me more. – SH**

John felt his cheeks getting pink. “Well, I’ll head for the shower and pick my phone out of my case. Myc is probably texting me like crazy too. Talk to you later,” Lestrade said standing up and walking away.

“Alright,” John smiled back.

**I met Lestrade. I liked him, told me something about you. – JW**

**We’ll talk about it if you want to. I never thought it was relevant. – SH**

**Everything about you is relevant. –JW**

**I want to kiss you so badly right now. – SH**

**I can think of some other things we can do too. –JW**

**We will do everything and more, wait for me. –SH**

**I need to go now, my arse of a brother is calling. Be safe. I love you. – SH**

**Take care, I love you too. – JW**


	6. Demons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Thank you all for the kudos/comments/bookmarks! 
> 
> And thanks Nightfall24 for being an amazing beta as usual!
> 
> Hope you all enjoy this chapter (:

 

_“_ _They say it's what you make, I say it's up to fate. It's woven in my soul.  I need to let you go. Your eyes, they shine so bright.  I want to save that light. I can't escape this now unless you show me how. When you feel my heat, look into my eyes. It’s where my demons hide. Don’t get too close, it’s dark inside.”_

 

Ioan sat with his back against the great imposing oak tree, which stood in the garden behind the manor. John was lying down beside him, eyes closed and legs crossed at the ankles. Ioan was telling him many stories of his past as a human and later as a vampire. John was very curious, a quality that Ioan was quite fond of. No one had ever had such interest in the vampire before and it made Ioan truly worried and happy at the same time.

They had been building this – friendship? – for the past four days. To Ioan’s surprise, Mycroft and Sherlock were taking longer than imagined to shut down all the Devreme warehouses; just like the ancient family was taking longer to attack the house and kidnap Lestrade. Usually Ioan would be bothered about this, but he was actually enjoying it. The Longer they stayed away, the longer he would have John’s company to himself. He knew he shouldn’t get too attached though, because as soon as the younger Holmes arrived, he would take John away from him. How could Ioan blame him? He wished he could do the same thing, realizing John was just addictive and Ioan found it rather impossible to stay away from the human for too long. Maybe he should just put an end to it before things got more complicated, it wouldn’t go anywhere anyways, right? If only he could… Every time he thought about doing so, all it took to change his mind was those beautiful honest blue eyes staring right through him.

“Sherlock texted me this morning, he said they’ll probably take two more days.” John said, his fingers tracing patterns on the grass.

Ioan’s guts did something weird, he didn’t like when John mentioned the other vampire. “I bet you miss him a lot.”

“’Course, but it’s less painful than I thought.” John opened his eyes to look at Ioan. “Thanks to you.”

“Thanks to me? What do you mean?” Ioan asked, his voice hiding the anxiety he felt it with the boy’s affirmation.

“Well, you’re being a great friend. I-I…You know you don’t have too though, right? I mean, I love to be with you and talk to you, but I understand if you think I’m boring or whatever, you know… I don’t want to push you or anything. I know I can be annoying sometimes…” John bit his bottom lip and stared at the clouds in the sky.

Ioan suddenly took John by his armpits and turned the boy to him so they were looking at each other’s eyes only a few inches apart. “John, for someone so smart, you just said a lot of bullshit,” they both giggled. “You’re the…” Ioan stopped, he couldn’t say it.

“What?” John’s brow furrowed.

Ioan hesitated for a moment, “you’re the best thing in this place.” _You’re the best thing in my life._ “If I wasn’t talking to you I’d probably have died of boredom.”

John laughed a bit before saying, “you vampires get bored so easily.”

“We’ve lived too much, seen too much, done too much, so few things are impressive to us,” Ioan said.

John was sitting properly now, legs folded and his body turned to Ioan. “Which things do you think are impressive?”

_You._ But before he could think of a better answer, Isadora and Patricia came running with their vampire speed in their direction, which was unusual. Mycroft had given them clear rules about avoiding the use of powers while John and Lestrade were around. So Ioan stood quickly, there was something wrong. _The Devreme’s men._

"Lestrade was in the village, he just arrived. He said he saw two suspicious men staring at him, and he was quite sure they were vampires. He didn’t see them following him to the manor, but what if they’re around here? What should we do, call Master Holmes?” Isadora asked nervously.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ioan saw John standing up. “No, let’s not overreact. Ask everybody to go inside and tell them to get some weapons prepared, just in case. I’ll tell the guards to watch over outside the gates, I’ll keep an eye from the inside. Understand?”

The servants nodded and ran away to do as they were told. Ioan turned to look at John, who was trying his best not to look scared, though the vampire could see through the façade. “It’s okay, it’s probably nothing. Let’s just take some precautions, yes? Come on.” Ioan put a hand on the small of John’s back as they walked to the manor.

Once inside, Ioan went to the basement to get his favorite stake, a relic that was dark and retractable, and attached it to his belt. In alert times like this, Ioan would go to stay with the rest of the servants in the smaller house but now, he didn’t want to let John out of his sight for a moment. Fortunately, he could use the excuse that he needed to guard Lestrade so he didn’t have to move from his spot in the living room, seated on the sofa and holding his gun. As if his gun would be useful against vampires somehow.

John sat on the stairs, hands on his ankles and face resting on his knees. He looked so vulnerable and fragile. Ioan wouldn’t let the vampires get a step near the boy even if he had to kill them and ruin the Devreme plan, which would no doubt cause much trouble for him later, but he didn’t care if it meant protecting John. “Alright?”

John nodded, “Sure. It’s been half an hour already, do you think they’ll come here?”

“I had a real bad feeling when I looked at them,” Lestrade spoke for the first time since they were in the house. “In fact, it was the purple coats that caught my eyes.”

“Purple coats?” John asked.

“Mycroft said vampires with purple coats are the worst kind, they’re the kind that kill and then ask questions later. They work for some kind of vampire royalty shit.”

“I just don’t understand why they’d be here. Masters Holmes’ are out and they should know that, they are very well informed about everything.” Ioan said, looking through the window.

“May—“ Lestrade started but a loud crash outside interrupted him.

Ioan’s ears could hear John’s heart beating faster, so he turned to look at the now standing boy. His hands were clasped and his legs a bit shaky as he stood. Ioan wanted to run and hug him, tell him nothing would happen to him. He couldn’t though, he had to keep the guard, had to pretend he didn’t know what was about to happen. Then they heard two more loud noises, Lestrade stood up and went to stay beside Ioan at the window. They still couldn’t see anything, but Ioan could hear vampire steps coming towards them. He could warn Lestrade, he could tell him to leave and get the motorbike to disappear until Ioan took care of the threat, but he didn’t. He knew that if he did anything at all to disturb the Devreme plans, Iolanda and he would pay with flesh. His sister certainly didn’t deserve to suffer for his actions, so Ioan kept quiet.

Soon enough they saw them; purple coats and big white daggers in their hands, Devreme style. They probably overtook the guards easily. Hardly any vampire would be strong enough to detain them. Though Ioan was one of the few, he wouldn’t be the one to do it this night. He removed his stake and unfolded it. He looked at John. “Go to the basement, grab one stake, stay hidden and be quiet. Try to calm down otherwise they will hear your heart. Okay?”

John took some time to assimilate Ioan’s words, but once he did he nodded and ran away to the basement. Ioan turned to Lestrade. “That gun of yours won’t do much, you know? But I can’t convince you to hide, can I?”

“Nope,” the grey haired man simply said.

_Bless that._ The purple coats infiltrated the mansion like Ioan anticipated. One came from the chimney and the other from the east window. Lestrade shot three times against the big vampire’s chest and as expected, nothing happened other than the predator got angrier. Ioan took two steps back from the other vampire when he tried to hit him with the white dagger. He wished he could just give Lestrade to the purple coats without any kind of fight, but the day the Devreme get what they want and let the DI go, he would definitely tell Mycroft everything and then Iolanda and Ioan would be screwed. So again, better play the game.

Ioan saw Lestrade throwing things at the vampire when his bullets ran out. Ioan jumped back and scratched the other vampire in his calves with his stake, not really causing any pain, but procrastinating just long enough until the bigger one took Lestrade. Unfortunately, Lestrade moved fast for a human and was very smart in avoiding the vampire’s strikes. Ioan slapped his rival on the face with the back of his stake and kicked his stomach. He knew the other vampire knew he wasn’t giving his best, and he also knew that the purple coat wasn’t hitting him with his best shot either. The Devreme probably asked them to play along too, liking it or not, Ioan and Iolanda were important informants to the family.

Finally Lestrade fell unconscious on the floor after the vampire thrust the dagger into his shoulder. Ioan and his fighting partner stopped their act at that moment. No one could see them right now, John was safe in the basement and the servants were in the other house. The taller vampire took Lestrade and put him on his back with great agility. “You got him, now leave,” Ioan said in Romanian.

The other two looked at each other and as fast as they arrive, they were gone. Thankfully, Ioan truly looked like he was in a serious fight, which would make it easier to convince the others he did his best to stop the purple coats from taking Lestrade. But first he wanted to see John, all this time he was still listening to the boy’s heart beats, though they were lower. He got down to the basement to find John seated on the floor holding a golden stake that was too heavy for him. Ioan fought the urge to smile at the scene, “everything okay down here?”

“Yes. How are you? W-what happened?” John stood up but kept holding the stake near his heart. Ioan got closer and took the object from him, throwing it to the floor near their feet.

“I’m fine, it was an ugly fight though, I couldn’t help Lestrade.”

“What? He’s… He’s not… Is he?” John was panting now, his heart started to beat fast again.

Ioan put a hand on his arm, “he’s not dead, but they took him away.”

“Oh no, no… Poor Greg.” John’s eyes were filling with tears as he put his hands on his mouth. He was trying hard to be strong, but his body was just so expressive.

“It’s okay, we’re going to find him. Hey, it’s fine. He’s strong and if they wanted him dead they’d have done it already. Alright? Come here.” Ioan pulled John to his arms and held the small blonde boy tight and it felt better than anything he had ever experienced before. John’s body was so close to his as they embraced each other, the boy gripping the back of his shirt in his small hands, searching for comfort. Just the two of them.


	7. Everybody Hurts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi people!
> 
> Thanks for the support! And thank you Nightfall24 for editing this chapter for me, diva as usual!
> 
> Hope you enjoy it (:

 

_“Don't let yourself go, 'cause everybody cries. And everybody hurts, sometimes.”_

 

It took some hours for Sherlock and Mycroft to finally arrive. They cut their business in half, leaving it to Iolanda and the others to take care of, as they obviously had more important things to deal with now. When John heard the car pulling up, he wished he had stood to greet them, but he felt so safe in Ioan’s arms that he didn’t want to move. They were inseparable since the whole attack happened, as John was afraid they might come back. He didn’t know for sure what would happen next, but he liked sharing Ioan’s warmth very much, which oddly enough was a lot of heat for a vampire.

Sherlock entered the house like a hurricane, fast and destructive. It took some seconds for John to realize he was being roughly pulled away from Ioan and into a tight hold by Sherlock, his face on the detective’s chest. His hands did the instinctive thing and clasped hard around his back. It felt good to be embraced by his love again, and only now did he understand how much he missed him. Sherlock kissed his hair. “I’m sorry, my love. I’m sorry this happened with you here.” John looked up and Sherlock’s eyes went from his to Ioan’s. “You did your job protecting him, but I must warn you; stay away from now on. You do not get close, you do not touch him, you do not talk to him, you do not even look at him.”

“Sherlock!” John protested. When he tried to pull away from his boyfriend, John was only held tighter. All he could do was turn his head to Ioan who was standing now, as imposing as Sherlock. “Ioan is my friend, Sherlock.”

John heard a growl coming from Sherlock’s throat. “He’s dangerous, John. He needs to stay away from you,” Sherlock hissed still glaring at Ioan, who glared right back.

“No, he’s not. He’s been really good to me while you were away, you know? How can you be so rude to him?” John said and put all his effort to get out from Sherlock’s embrace, which was useless.

“You don’t know him for real, you—“ Sherlock started but was interrupted by the blonde.

“Stop it! I missed you but now I really don’t want to be around you!” He said punching his boyfriend in his chest. Sherlock looked at him bemused and dropped his hands to his side. “You can’t say who I will and who I won’t talk to, Sherlock. You can’t control me, okay?”

John stepped back and turned his back to Sherlock so he could stare at Ioan. “I’m sorry, Ioan. Please, don’t ignore me. You’re the first friend I have had in a long time.”

Ioan gave him an unsure smile. “There’s nothing in this world that will make me stay away from you, John.”

Suddenly, Sherlock was all over Ioan, hands on the other vampire’s collar and fangs out. Sherlock seemed surprised though, when Ioan’s fangs also dropped and he quickly shoved Sherlock into the wall, putting his right arm on the vampire’s throat and lifting him off the floor. John put both his hands on his mouth in shock, but didn’t move. “I’m older, therefore I’m more experienced. Are you seriously trying to frighten me?” Ioan said between gritted teeth.

Sherlock moved his arms and legs but had no success in getting rid of Ioan’s grasp. “If John wants to see me, he will see me. He can decide for himself, and you’ll respect that. I don’t care who you are, he’s the one that matters. Understood?”

Before Sherlock could answer, John heard a calm familiar voice, “Ioan, let him go. Sherlock, do behave, please.”

John turned to look at Mycroft. The man seemed tired, but more than that he looked sad. He had been talking to the vampire security who were hired to replace the ones killed by the purple coats, and had only just arrived inside the house. Ioan let Sherlock go with a rough move and then both vampires retracted their fangs. The Romanian walked to Mycroft’s side, giving John a reassuring look. Sherlock put a possessive arm around John’s shoulder and the boy had to fight the urge to pull away, as he was still upset with all the hurtful things Sherlock had said to his friend.

“The Devreme took Gregory,” Mycroft spoke, “and I was told we received an encrypted message coming from abroad saying that ‘words will be told soon.’”

“They’ll ask for a ransom, but what else would the Devreme want from you? Government positions maybe? No, they are too lazy. Authorization for their human trafficking? No, they don’t care about it too much. Acknowledgment of their royalty? No, not worth the trouble,” Sherlock said all too quickly. If John was any human, he would have had a hard time understanding everything, but living with the mad genius vampire gave him experience.

“I have my own suspicions, Sherlock,” Mycroft sighed, “but whatever they want, I’ll give it to them.” John thought he seemed resigned and had a frown of uneasiness that John had never seen.

“I don’t really thin—“ Sherlock was cut off by his older brother.

“The only thing I care about now, brother mine, is having Gregory back and I’ll do everything in my power to bring him back to me.” Mycroft closed his eyes for a moment. “You couldn’t stop talking about John the entire time you two were apart and that was one week and you knew he was safe. So, I’m sure you can understand how I’m feeling now knowing the love of my life is kidnapped and maybe hurt by old cruel vampires.”

John’s eyes filled with tears and he had the strange urge to hug Mycroft, though he did no such thing. The blonde teen was far from being as intelligent as the Holmes brothers, but he didn’t need to be a genius to notice how desperate the older vampire was and how well he was disguising all his pain. He has to look strong for the good of the status quo after all. John felt Sherlock pressing closer, his arm tightening around him.

“Ioan, I need to discuss something with you upstairs,” Mycroft said, walking towards the stairs. “Sherlock. John.” He gave them a quick nod to each of them.

“He was so brave, Mycroft.” John said suddenly, making the vampire turn to face him. “Ioan told me he fought extremely well, much better than the average human. He’s a great man and I’m sure he’ll stay strong and when you two meet again you can argue and kiss the hell out each other.”

John could swear he saw the older vampire’s eyes shining, even though he knew it was impossible. Mycroft weakly smiled, it was longing and pining to say the least. John was sure that many scenes of his and Lestrade’s life were passing through his mind at that moment. He didn’t dare to put himself in the man’s shoes though, the pain would be too much for his human body, even he knew that.

Ioan crossed the room to follow Mycroft and when he passed by John, he gave the boy a wink. Not a flirtatious wink, John knew, but a friendly one. One that meant he would talk to him afterwards, that he wouldn’t give up on John, and that made the blonde’s chest warm.

After both vampires were on the second floor, Sherlock turned John in his arms and kissed him deeply. John allowed him access, he wasn’t so angry now, not after seeing how distraught Mycroft was. What if it was him? What if it was Sherlock? He should not be mad at his love for being jealous, he knew how the man was and that was the longest time they had been apart since they got together. John pulled away just enough so their foreheads could touch, so he could take a deep breath. “You’re a possessive bastard and that was a bit not good, but damn how I love you.”

“I’m sorry if that was too much, I just can’t bear to see someone else touching you, especially another vampire. I’ll try to control myself next time, promise. I don’t want to control you,” Sherlock said cupping John’s face in his gloved hands.

John kissed him again, grabbing his detective’s back. “I’m really worried about what happened to Greg. I feel so sorry for Mycroft, he looks shattered.”

“It’s a pity. Lestrade is a good man, and not as stupid as most of NSY.” Sherlock rested his chin on the top of John’s head. “But all that matters to me is that you’re safe. I love you so much.”

They kissed some more, gently but greedily. “Let’s go to bed, shall we?”

John knew he had to enjoy the present, because something in his bones told him that a big storm was coming hungrily towards them.


	8. A Thousand Years

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi people!
> 
> Thank you all for the kudos/comments/bookmarks! Sorry that it took me long to update it, last week was a bit messed up.
> 
> This chapter is not betad, so please try to condone and overlook my mistakes! I really hope it doesn't disturb on your reading.
> 
> We have some smut time ahead, I thought it was about time! I hope you all enjoy it ;*

 

_“I have died every day waiting for you. Darling, don't be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more.”_

 

“You have no idea how much I missed you while I was away”, Sherlock said on John’s neck.

They were in their bed, bathed and naked entangled with each other, face to face. Sherlock caressed John’s bare arm with his fingertips while his face was buried in the crook where the blonde’s neck met his shoulder. “I missed you too, love.” John said sighing slightly.

Sherlock pulled away a bit to look John in the eyes, “What’s the matter?”

“I’m just worried about Greg.” John said, removing some dark curls from Sherlock’s forehead.

“Try not to, Mycroft will solve it. He won’t let anything happen to Lestrade. Okay?” Sherlock said it like he had completely trust in his brother, John couldn’t help but to smile at his boyfriend, planting a gentle kiss in his plump lips.

Sherlock kissed him back and after some moment it became a very hard and wet kiss that usually preceded a great love making. Sherlock’s mouth lowered to John’s neck again but quickly moved forward to his chest, nipping and licking at the soft skin making John moan. He didn’t stop there though, and soon enough John was feeling the wet and warm mouth engulfing his length. “Oh Sherlock!” John groaned, it had been a long time since Sherlock had done it, usually was the other way around.

John was on his elbows just to watch Sherlock’s head going up and down on his cock. He grabbed one handful of soft mussed dark curls and pulled it hard, but the vampire didn’t seem to mind for he kept doing a great work sucking on and making the boy melt onto de bed again. It took some moments for John to get the courage to call Sherlock, “Baby, stop it or I’ll come. And… I want to come with you inside me.”

At that Sherlock left John’s cock with a pop and leaned to grab the bottle of lube on the bedside table. John admired Sherlock’s lustful face while he spread some lube on his hands and opened John up. His silver eyes were completely dark and his hair was a beautiful chaos. When he looked at John and saw the amused grin on his face, he asked with a teasing smile, “Something funny, doctor?” John loved when Sherlock called him ‘doctor’, he felt more confidence towards his professional future.

John chuckled, “You’re a gorgeous bastard.”

Sherlock leaned down and peppered John’s face with kisses, “And you’re a gorgeous pert.”

“Ouch”, John laughed. “I’m ready, Sherlock. Please, please.”

Sherlock removed his fingers and took the lube again, this time to spread it on himself. He laid down on top of John while he lined his erection with John’s entrance, and slowly entered him until he was fully seated. John’s head rolled back, his eyes closed and his mouth opened. Sherlock moved out then moved in and like that he began a steady thrusting rhythm, making John whine with pleasure every now and then when he touched his prostate. When his vampire started to lose control and thrust faster and harder – which always happened when they had sex due to his kindred – his fangs popped down. John was used to it by now and didn’t care, actually he thought it was quite sexy when Sherlock’s eyes turned shining diamonds and his white fangs appeared so fierce and lethal, he had a sense of danger that felt really good.

“John”, Sherlock panted, “May I… Please, may I bite you?”

For a moment John didn’t say anything, he was processing the request and then he gave Sherlock a confused look, “Why? I mean, you never wanted it before.” John whispered, his body covered by sweat.

“I want to… Taste you while we are this close. Biting a mate during sex is the most intimate thing a vampire can do, it means we’re bonded with love and lust, it’s an old tradition.” Sherlock’s thrusts slowed a bit so he could speak properly, “I will respect your decision, of course. But if you decide in favor I promise you it won’t hurt, I promise you’ll feel good as well.”

John considered that for a moment, trying to keep a clear mind in the middle of so many sensations. He read about this act, when vampires bit their mates they produced endorphin in their saliva to alleviate the pain and cause pleasure during the bite. John needed to admit that the idea was appealing, especially because he _wanted_ Sherlock to taste his blood to have part of him inside the vampire, he always had this will but never said anything because he thought Sherlock would oppose. He was always very discrete when the matter was his vampire nature, he did it to protect John.

“Okay”, John finally said.

“Okay?” Sherlock seemed unsure.

“Yes, please. I want it.” John confirmed, lifting his head up to kiss Sherlock’s jaw.

Sherlock shifted his body without moving out of John, he kissed the blonde’s mouth deeply before trailing his tongue down the boy’s jaw until his neck. There he licked and nipped gently at the skin, as to prepare it for the big show. John grabbed Sherlock’s back and nailed it hard. “Mine”, Sherlock growled before biting him down.

John felt a mixture of adrenaline and lust that made his entire body quiver and his mouth to release a moan that sounded more like a desperate shout. He had no doubt people in the manor would hear but he didn’t care in the moment, the only thing he gave a damn about was the feeling of his blood flowing through his body to Sherlock’s mouth, and his fangs inside his neck, hard but good. His legs wrapped around Sherlock’s waist and he thrusted his hips forward prompting his boyfriend to start moving again. Sherlock acquiesced and his thrusts became wild, so it took only a few moves to make John come all over their stomachs. Sherlock followed some seconds later, and he bit harder before retrieving his fangs from John’s neck to lick gently at the skin.

After Sherlock got out of John and retracted his fangs, he took a cloth that was near the bed and cleaned both of them before lying down beside a debauched and flushed John. “Alright, my love?” Sherlock asked pulling the boy to his chest.

John just nodded reaching an arm around Sherlock’s stomach and entwining their legs. He felt Sherlock’s fingers caressing the bite on his neck lightly. Sleep was beginning to take over him and in that moment he forgot everything about the problems that were surrounding him. The only thing he felt was safety right there on Sherlock’s chest, embraced by his vampire strong arms. “Sherlock?” He murmured.

“Yes, my love?” Sherlock kissed his mussed hair.

“Did you like it? My blood…”

“It was perfect. I didn’t expect anything different though, since _you_ are perfect.”

John smiled, his eyes closed and his mind already drifting away, “I love you, Sherlock.”

“You’re my life, John. Sleep well, my prince.”


	9. Up In The Air

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey people!
> 
> Sorry it took me so long to update it! And I'm sorry for the mistakes in this chapter, it's past midnight here and I'm so sleepy I could pass out any moment, but I wanted to post it now 'cause I wouldn't be able to do it tomorrow, so please be nice with me lol
> 
> Thanks, and I hope you enjoy it ;*

 

_"A thousand times I've tempted fate. A thousand times I've played this game. A thousand times that I have said today."_

 

It was hard. Extremely so. Ioan tried to read a book in the library but he just couldn’t take all the moans and love making sounds coming from John and Sherlock’s bedroom. He put the book back on the shelf and left the manor with a big frown on his face. It hurt so badly and Ioan hated it. He didn’t hate John – how could he? – He hated himself for getting too close, too attached to the human. He knew it wouldn’t end well – technically it hadn’t ended yet – but he couldn’t find the will in his heart to stay away from John. The beautiful blonde boy was addictive and he made the vampire remember how it was to feel human. John made Ioan accept himself.

Vampires slept, but they didn’t need as much sleeping time as humans. Ioan liked the few hours he could just let his mind rest in peace, eyes closed and body relaxed. But there wasn’t any of that that night. Hid bed felt way too big and empty. Instead he sat on the balcony and watched the stars until the sun raised, and he smirked with the analogy. John was the sun and the stark night was Ioan. Oh how he wanted to let John devour him like the sun did to the darkness. In that moment he felt a need he had never had in his life before. The need to _have_ John. Like Sherlock had. _Sherlock Holmes_. Their rivalry was natural, they could sense each other’s interest in John and they both wanted to mark their territory. _John loves Holmes,_ part of him thought. _Does he, though?_ Another said. _Maybe he is with Sherlock because he thinks he can’t get a better companion._ Ioan had to prove him wrong.

When the clock showed eight he took a shower and dressed quickly. Mycroft was going to receive the expected phone call from the Devreme and both Ioan and the older Holmes knew exactly what they would ask in trade for Lestrade. They planned their actions the day before when Mycroft asked Ioan to come to his office. Mycroft would gather his best vampires to escort them to the place where the Devreme chose to make the exchange. Ioan would go in the main car with his boss and at the same time they left the manor, another three cars would leave three different locations to the same destination. Mycroft told Ioan everything about the researches – he no choice now after all – and he said they were almost getting a conclusion that would change the vampire world, plus that this matter involved not only Great Britain but other vampire organizations around the world. He was told to not deliver the results to the Devreme in any case, that he should make another deal, find some agreement that didn’t involve this. But Mycroft knew this wouldn’t work so he had a plan of himself, something the research board table didn’t know.

One of the doctors Mycroft hired for the British lab would go in one of the cars, and she would take what was supposed to be all the data the researchers had achieved, but in reality was a mixture of files from all the failed experiments and mistaken conclusions. Plus, it had a tracker attached. Mycroft also thought the Devreme would ask for the destruction of the lab, and he had already ordered a fake place so they could film and show to the ancient family. Once Lestrade was back and safe, the older Holmes would hunt the purple cloaks one by one.

Ioan sat on the manor’s living room sofa waiting, legs crossed on the ankles. It took fifteen minutes for Mycroft and Sherlock to go downstairs with blank faces. The Romanian stood quickly and stared at his boss, ignoring Sherlock. “Sir?” He asked.

Mycroft smoothed the front of his graffiti suit, “They are quite predictable to our luck. The plan is on, Ioan.”

Ioan nodded and walked to open the door for the ginger Holmes, waiting next to threshold.  When he turned his eyes to the Holmes brother Sherlock had his arms crossed on his chest and an annoyed expression on his face. “You have a thousand other people to do that for you. Why me?” He asked his brother.

“I trust you the most. Be reasonable, Sherlock. You only have to go see if everything is okay in the main lab and then come back, it will only take a few hours.” Mycroft said, his voice tired.

“A few hours are all that is needed for someone to break the manor and hurt John. He is already mad at me for not allowing him to leave the place. He locked himself in our bedroom in anger. I can’t leave him now!” Sherlock’s tone was almost imploring.

Mycroft closed his eyes for a moment and sighed heavily, “Sherlock, there will be two of my…”

“Oh yes, they did a great job last time!” The younger brother exclaimed throwing his hands in the air in signal of impatience.

“Okay, I’ll put five of my best men here around the house. There’s no indication that anyone will try to invade here anyway. I can assure you John will be safe, brother. So, are you coming?” Mycroft glared at Sherlock.

The detective ran his hands through his hair nervously, “Alright. But I better be back before John decides to leave the bedroom.”

“I’ll ask your driver to drive like the wind, Sherlock. Now I don’t know if you forgot, but _my_ loved one’s life is at stake in the moment while we speak. Let’s go.” Mycroft said walking outside.

Sherlock followed him and when his silver eyes met Ioan’s there was intimidation there. Ioan fought the urge to laugh. He was much older than Sherlock, he was not intimidated easily and he would not be by an arrogant young vampire. He closed the door behind him and waited for Mycroft to enter the car first before getting inside himself. Their driver waited for the other car – the one who would take Sherlock to St. Bart’s – to leave and then started their way out. Ioan gave a last glance to the second floor window, wishing that John was okay and saying a prayer in his mind to fight for the boy when he got back.

Their trip took two hours and during the entire way Ioan had a strange feeling in his gut. Some kind of smell… Not bad, but familiar. And it was there. Seemed so close but so far away. Mycroft didn’t notice anything, but maybe because his mind was far away from his body the entire ride. After some time Ioan shook the smell off and focused on his window, trying not to think of _him_. But how could he? Everything Ioan saw his brain related to John. He was glad Mycroft would do all the talking, and he would just stay close in case something went out of control. Sometimes he forgot that his first job for Mycroft was as his body guard.

When they left the car the purple coats hadn’t arrived yet. The older Holmes headed towards the middle of the dark warehouse. The other cars were arriving shortly after them. Ioan closed the door and stood next to the side of the car. That was when he noticed something weird. A noise. Something – or someone? – moving, deep inhales and exhales. Ioan looked around him but all he saw were impassive vampires getting out of the cars, some joining Mycroft, others holding their position inside the cars. He even saw the doctor carrying an orange pen drive and heading to the middle to talk to Holmes. The noise wasn’t coming from neither of them.

_Thud thud._

Ioan knew this sound, very loud and clear now. He walked to the back of the car and stared at the trunk. The sound repeated again and again. The vampire used his strength to unlock and lift its lid almost completely. _Oh._ There he was. The reason of his reveries. John Watson. In fact, a very flushed and sweating John Watson. That explained the familiar scent. John put his index finger on his lips in sign of silence; instinctively Ioan lowered the trunk’s lid and glanced around to see if anyone else was paying attention to them. Fortunately they were reasonably far away and entertained on their own anxiously conversations.

“John, what the hell are you doing here?” Ioan asked, his voice more concerned than angry.

“I was mad and wanted to make Sherlock a little surprise for his audacity on forbidding me to leave the manor this morning.” John said, his voice almost a whisper. Despite all he looked rather excited. “Guess I entered the wrong car.”

“Oh John.” Ioan sighed. John was an obstinate little thing. That was one of the reasons he loved John, but that was also one of the reasons the blonde was in danger now, “You can’t be seen around here, John. Humans are not supposed to know about us. If they see you…”

“It’s okay, Ioan. I know, I’ll be quiet.” John was not smiling with his mouth, but his eyes betrayed him.

Suddenly John did something Ioan wasn’t expecting at all. He reached for the vampire’s hand and held it tight. “Do you mind? I’m not afraid or anything, it’s just… An intimidating environment. Even if I’m inside a trunk”, he giggled at the last part.

Ioan couldn’t answer for a moment. The heat coming from John’s touch was overwhelming. He wanted more. “Anything.”


	10. Bleed it Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there!
> 
> Thank you all for the kudos/bookmarks/comments! They mean the world. (:
> 
> This chapter is not betad or bit-pricked so please forgive my mistakes!
> 
> Hope you enjoy it ;*

 

_“I bleed it out, I've opened up these scars, I'll make you face this. I pull myself so far, I'll make you face this now.”_

 

Ioan grabbed John and using his unnatural speed put him inside the vehicle. Nobody was paying attention to them but he still insisted John to stay laid on the car seat. There was no sign the purple coats were arriving. That was typical, the Devreme loved to make people wait, they did it to humiliate and make sure everyone remembered who was on the control of the situation. So Ioan thought it was no problem entering the car to make John company while they waited.

After he climbed in, he closed the door and signed John to move so he could lie his head on Ioan’s lap. Immediately the heat coming from the boy hit him like a bullet to the brain. His fingers instinctively ran through John’s soft blonde hair and he closed his eyes enjoying the moment. John broke the silence after a few minutes, “Do you think everything will work out?”

Ioan opened his eyes and looked at John. The beautiful boy was looking away, leaving his neck exposed, and that was when Ioan saw it. A bite on the pale skin. A _vampire_ bite. Obviously Sherlock’s. Ioan felt anger wash over him when he understood exactly what that meant. Sherlock marked John as his just so any other vampire – Ioan - could see it and back instantly away from John. It was an ancient and possessive vampire gesture that showed how much that human was theirs, how they completely _owned_ them. Of course, based on the new rules, it was strictly forbidden for vampires to let humans know their true nature, and everyone knew nobody respected it. But even these didn’t that anymore, they all considered an archaic act that took the human’s freedom away and objectified them. Having a bite mark on your neck basically meant you were the vampire’s plaything.

“Ioan?”John asked, now looking at him with his brows furrowed.

“John…” Ioan considered for a moment if he should say something about it. He wondered what was Sherlock’s excuse to make John allow him doing it. What if Sherlock forced it on John? Ioan would rip him slowly limb from limb if he did so. Now he had to know. “What did Sherlock say when he bit you?”

John seemed startled for a moment and he clasped his hands together, looking down. “I don’t see how this is…”

“Answer me, John. I guarantee you it’s important.” Ioan’s tone was harsh and he felt bad for using it with John, but he needed to make the boy speak.

John sighed, “He told me it is an old tradition that means intimacy, bonding with love and lust.” He turned his dark blue eyes to Ioan’s brown ones.

Ioan grabbed John’s hand tight, “He lied to you, John.”

“What?”

“He was honest about the tradition thing, but the rest is bullshit.” Ioan took a deep breath – although he didn’t need to – his next words would hurt the teen but he needed to show him the truth. “Holmes marked you as his property. Biting a human is something vampires used to do to claim the human as their blood bag so no one could touch them. It’s not about love, it’s about branding you like a cattle.”

John grimaced at the last sentence and his eyes closed. For a moment Ioan thought he would move out of his lap but he didn’t, instead he only shook his head. “No, that was not what Sherlock meant. He loves and respects me. He doesn’t treat me like that.”

“Why would he lie to you, John? Why would he suddenly want to bite you?” Ioan waited John to look at him before continuing. “He wanted _me_ to see that you belong to him. He wants me to stay away from you. You know what that means? He doesn’t want you to have a choice.”

“A choice?” John looked honestly confused.

Before Ioan could answer, though, he heard cars pulling up outside. _They’re finally here_. “John, I need you to stay laid down here, try to keep yourself calm and don’t try to peek. Everything must be fast and soon we’ll be going home.”

John lifted himself on his elbows so Ioan could get out of the car. The Romanian wasn’t sure if he hated the timing or not. What if he told John his feelings and the boy rejected him? He was too blind for Sherlock after all, but Ioan was positive he could make John see how poisonous the detective might be, all the stories he heard in the house… Yes, that would definitely be on his favor. Right now, though, he needed to keep his focus on the trade happening before him.

Mycroft stood calm with his usually perfect posture. One of the purple coats that left the car walked slowly and stopped in front of him with the same imposing stance. “Mr. Holmes, let’s do this quickly. What do you say?”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Mycroft spoke, voice sharp and cold. “Show me Gregory Lestrade and I’ll show you what you requested.”

“Very well.”

The purple coat clapped his hands and two henchmen brought a pale Lestrade from inside their second car. Apart from the mussed hair, lack of his coat and the dark circles under his eyes, the DI seemed well. Ioan watched Mycroft’s figure go still and he knew for sure that his boss was gathering all his self-strength to not run and hold the grey haired man in his arms. The men kept Lestrade beside the purple coat, tight hands on his arms.

It was Mycroft’s turn to bring the prize so he snapped his fingers and one of his guards brought a tablet, as soon as Mycroft took it he called the doctor and she stood beside him holding the pen drive in her hands so they all could see it. “I’ve commanded my men to explode the lab. Since it is underground nobody will suspect a thing.”

Mycroft touched the screen and turned it to the purple coat. “Sir? We’re ready”, came a male voice from the object. “Do we have your permission to detonate it?”

“Yes, do it.” Mycroft simply said.

From his angle Ioan couldn’t see what the screen showed but he had an idea. The fake lab exploding until there was nothing but ashes. The Devreme’s dealer grinned in delight as he watched it. When the loud noises stopped Mycroft turned the video off and gave the tablet to the guard. “First part done. Let Gregory go and I’ll hand you the files.”

“How do I know you will keep your word?” The man arched one eyebrow.

“I have done nothing to make you doubt it yet, have I?”

The purple coat seemed to think for a moment before turning his head and gesturing for the men to free Lestrade not too gently. That was Ioan’s cue so he ran to grab the weak detective. He looked at Mycroft and the ginger nodded in confirmation, quickly he took Lestrade away to the car that was currently hiding John. “How are you feeling?” Ioan asked the man as he opened the black door. John was startled at first then relief was all over his face and he moved back so Lestrade could sit beside him.

“I’ve been better, but I can hold on as long as it takes.” His voice was hoarse and exhausted. He turned his head and looked at John, “What the hell are you doing here, kid?”

“Long story.” John was awkwardly kneeling on the car’s floor now so he touched Lestrade’s thigh and squeezed it cheerfully, “I’m so happy you’re okay, I was so bloody worried! Glad to know everything worked out fine in the end.”

“Somehow I feel this is not the end yet, John.” The older man said.

Ioan closed the door and headed forward to see Mycroft giving the Devreme’s man the pen drive with the supposed files. He signed to one of his men to bring a laptop, in quick movements he connected the pen drive there and typed some things looking attentive to the screen Ioan couldn’t see from his position. Some minutes passed as the man checked the files, his eyes glued to the notebook all the time. When was satisfied he ordered the henchmen to take it away. “It seems everything is right.”

“Yes, let us part our ways then.” There was just a small hint of longing in Mycroft’s voice.

“We shall. It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Holmes.” He said with a mischievously smile on his face.

“I wish I could say the same”, Mycroft said turning around and keeping a normal speed as he walked towards Ioan and the car.

When he was close enough, Ioan said, “Sir, John Watson is also in the car. He got inside our trunk by accident; he thought it was Sherlock’s car.”

Mycroft sighed, “My brother will surely be pleased.”

Ioan opened the door so his boss could enter first, he got inside right after him. The driver took his seat and ignited the car. Mycroft hugged Lestrade as hard as he could, the detective inspector buried his face on the taller man’s neck. “I’m so sorry, my love.”

“You know it was not your fault, Myc.” Lestrade said pulling away so he could touch Mycroft’s face with his right hand.

Ioan and John looked outside their windows, trying to give the couple as much privacy as they could considering the small space. Through the glass reflection the Romanian saw Mycroft press his lips against Lestrade’s gently. They oozed love and relief between many other feelings. It was so not-Mycroft, but Ioan knew how much the vampire changed when he was around his partner. “If anything had happened to you, I—“

“Hey, I’m here now. Alright?”

As soon as Lestrade finished speaking the entire scene changed. First a really loud noise obstructed all the other sounds and then the car was turning upside down. It overturned several times before it stopped. The first thing that came to Ioan’s mind was John. He looked to his side to find a confused Mycroft and a wounded Lestrade moving slowly, trying to hold each other without understanding exactly what happened. Ioan crawled to check on John just to find the boy missing. The crash probably threw him away through the window. _Please don’t let anything happen to him,_ he pleaded no one in special. As he was getting ready to leave the crushed vehicle to go looking for John he smelled it. “Fire.”


	11. Far From Any Road

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi people!
> 
> Thank you all so much for the support, it means so much to me!
> 
> Sorry for the delay, some weeks are just tough.   
> This chapter is not betad, so please forgive my mistakes!
> 
> Hope you enjoy it (:

 

_“When the last light warms the rocks, and the rattlesnakes unfold. Mountain cats will come to drag away your bones.”_

 

John saw a very bright white light. It overwhelmed him to the bones. He couldn’t feel his body, he couldn’t feel anything at all, he was just aware that his eyes were open but everything was blank. Then suddenly a dark silhouette cut the whiteness, splitting it in half. John wasn’t able to figure what the shadow was, but he realized it was coming closer to him. Closer and closer and closer, until… _Sherlock!_ It was Sherlock alright, but his eyes were different. They were not the usual beautiful silver John loved, no, they were all black. Completely black, like shark’s eyes. John tried to call his name but no sound came from his mouth, he was still dormant. Sherlock knelt beside him and smiled. His fangs were down and they were bloody. In fact, there was lots of blood coming out from Sherlock’s mouth. John tried to scream, tried to move, but before he could do anything he heard the baritone tone he used to love, but now frightened the hell out of him. “Mine.” Suddenly Sherlock was attacking him and the utter evil expression of his face was the last thing he remembered.

His eyes opened again and it took a moment to understand he was staring at the sky. _It was just a dream then._ His body relaxed but it didn’t last long. A loud noise filled his ears for some seconds and he lifted his weak hands to cover them, so he could muffle the annoying sound. He moved his body slowly, it ached everywhere but he was glad for the pain. It was better to feel it than to be dormant anyway. He managed to sit on the concrete floor and that was when he realized where he was and what had happened.

The road was filled with cars, but not any cars. John noticed they were all from the vampires that were in the warehouse. The ones that were supposed to be their allies.  Mycroft’s car, though, was upside down in the middle of the road, fire devouring it. John tried to stand up and ran to see if there was anyone there, if he could save anyone, although the situation in which the car was told him it was almost impossible to survive it harmless. Mycroft, Ioan and the driver would probably heal after a long time, but Greg would… John couldn’t do it, his legs failed him and he fell to the floor again. _Bloody hell, everything hurts._ He knew he probably had some broken ribs, several bruises and wounds along his torso and face, and most likely a twist on his leg. Also his head hurt like hell. He must have knocked it on the floor when he flew from the car.

There were some vampires watching the fire but no one was moving a damn finger to help. John was about to scream when he saw. Ioan limped outside the car, half of his face and almost all of his clothes were burned, and he seemed in great pain. John’s heart broke as he watched the scene without being able to do anything. He thought about screaming again but was interrupted by three of the “allies vampires” shoving poor Ioan on the floor, kicking him on his back and pressing his face against the concrete. One of them knelt and roughly put a collar on Ioan’s neck. When John’s friend tried to fight it he was assaulted by a violent shock, John knew it by the way his entire body shook and quivered falling on the floor again, completely numb. _A shock collar?_ John just wished with all his heart that Ioan wasn’t dead. _Not him, please not him._

Some moments later other vampire guards went to the destroyed car only to bring a completely burned Mycroft. John’s throat had a knot and he felt tears filling his eyes. He could see the older Holmes was alive but he looked so fragile, so shattered. They did the same thing to Mycroft that they did with Ioan, shoved him on the floor and put the shock collar. _Where’s Greg?_ His question was answered seconds later when they removed Greg’s almost intact body from the car. He had some burns but mostly he was fine, although unconscious. _How…? Oh._ It all seemed logic now, Mycroft shielded Lestrade from the fire, that’s why he was so wrecked and Greg so well. _Oh Mycroft._ They didn’t put the collar on the detective inspector, but they handcuffed him and put a bag on his head. Quickly all the three victims were thrown inside three different cars.

_An ambush. They all conspired with the Devreme against Mycroft._ John’s face was red with anger. He just wanted to ran and kick everybody’s arse, but he knew it was impossible. First because he was only human, second because he was only one. Thinking about that, it was weird that no one had caught him yet. He was between two of the cars, a little behind, near the side of the road, and it was true he wasn’t in the center of the action but still… They were vampires, they should have noticed him there. He couldn’t even stand up and run for help. _Help? There was no one to help them._ If only he had his cellphone with him.

Slowly he tried to move outside the road, maybe he could crawl and hide until they went away, and then he could try to get a lift or something. What else was he supposed to do? A noise distracted him before he could begin moving though. The last car. The purple coat’s car. The door opened and the vampire who made the deal with Mycroft got out. The mysterious vampire headed towards the vehicle that had Mycroft locked inside but he stopped half way and looked at John. He really stared at John, and the blonde boy froze. _Shit. I hope at least they put me with Lestrade._ All the vampires turned their heads to glare at John’s small and wounded body that now tried useless to move away.

Suddenly there was a cold hand on his shoulder, he turned around and pulled on his most aggressive face to stare at the vampire. The man’s eyes were deep green, his skin paled and his hair was copped and black. The purple coat was falling down his shoulders, the Devreme’s insignia on his chest and his expression was of pure surprise. That didn’t make sense, why was he surprised? The other vampires seemed to wonder the same as John since they all kept staring at each other bemusedly.  John was completely confused when the vampire let go of his shoulder and knelt on the floor on one knee, bowing his head to John. _What. The. Actual. Fuck?!_ Why was this supposedly noble vampire bowing to John? He should only bow to the Devreme, right?

“Your Grace,” he said with his head still bowed.

John was out of words. He just kept staring at the vampire. Some of the others came close and frowned at the scene. One of the vampires wearing a suit asked with a cold voice, “What is going on here?”

The vampire doctor, the one that managed the pen drive – despite Ioan’s warnings, John peeked the whole negotiation through the car’s windows – crossed her arms on her chest and spoke, “I think the boy might be the lost Devreme.”

Some whispers between them until someone said out loud, “The lost Devreme? Aren’t the Four the only ones left?”

The purple coat stood up and helped John to stand up as well, when he realized the boy wasn’t going to be still because of his injuries, he ordered two of his guards to carry him. John protested, tried to pull them away but it was useless. Instead he did what he could with the only weapons he still had, his words. “Would someone please explain to me what the fuck is going on?” He was pepper angry, after all they had hurt his friends.

“Your Grace. Don’t you remember?” The purple coat asked, his tone oddly gentle. John shook his head and furrowed his brows. The vampire continued then. “They told me this might happen; it’s been so long after all. Your memory isn’t the same. Of course. My mistake, sir. I’m sorry.”

John’s eyes widened. _Uh?_

“Oh we’ve been looking for you for so long! I knew we would find you in London, I just didn’t know it would be like this. You found us, sir. You’re so powerful we didn’t need to go to you, you came to us.” He smiled and John couldn’t be more confused. “Oh of course, I’m sorry! My name is Stelian, a humble vassal of their and your Grace. It’s an honor to finally see you in person, sir”

John closed his eyes for a moment and then sighed. “Okay, you are definitely confusing me with someone. My name is John Watson, I’m human. I didn’t know the Devreme existence until some days ago! And by the way… You hurt my friends!” He moved his head towards the burned car.

“Your friends? Oh! What a mess we made. We’re so sorry, sir. One of the reasons we did it was because we thought they would be useful to help us find you, and looking from a certain aspect we can say they were.” Stelian bowed and slapped his fingers to his guards. “Put the three on my car and take them back to the Holmes manor. His Grace cares about them.”

Some of the other vampires made angry noises at the purple coat decision of letting them go. They probably had some more reasons of why kidnapping Mycroft and Ioan was a good idea. Stelian didn’t give them a second glance as he gestured the guards to go do their duty.

John was relieved for his friends, very much so. But he was still trying to understand what exactly was happening. “Er… Why do you think I’m one of the Devreme?”

“Because you look just like Prince Vasile. I know the story because I used to ask my maker to tell me every night when I was on my “vampire childhood”. But it got forgotten in time and most of the vampires now don’t know it. A shame really, it’s such a beautiful story. I always thought it was fiction, but… Looking at you now. The paints of the book, they look just like you.” The doctor said, her voice had an astounded quality.

“Prince Vasile?” John asked, his mouth parted.

“They took you away from the Prince, but now we finally found you. After so many centuries! Don’t worry, my prince, you will remember everything. We need to heal your wounds and take you home.” Stelian said.

“That’s right. Home as the Holmes Manor, right?” John asked warily.

“Of course not, your Grace. Home as Romania.”


	12. The Ghost of You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there!
> 
> Thank you all for the support! Each comment/kudo/bookmark makes me feel extremely happy!
> 
> Also, I want to say a huge thaaaaaaaaanks to mafm who edited this chapter! You're great, I'm very lucky you're my beta.
> 
> Oh I'm so sorry that it took me so long to update it, my weeks keep getting busy with Uni and some other issues. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I promise the next one will be bigger and with more action! (;
> 
> Thank you!

 

_“At the end of the world, or he last thing I see. You are never coming home, never coming home. Could I? Should I?”_

 

It took ten days for Ioan to heal properly, and all the time he spent bedridden was hellish, not only because of all the staff going around the Holmes’ Estate treating Mycroft, who was still very fragile, although talking and walking; but even more so because of one enraged Sherlock Holmes. The detective wasn’t a coward and that was the only reason he didn’t attack Ioan while he was recuperating. The man was crazy, commanding all the guards to follow him through England after John. _John_. Ioan was filled with sadness every time he thought about the beautiful blonde boy. It was his fault he was taken, and Sherlock had every right to be mad at him; he was mad at himself. But self-loathing wouldn’t help to get the teen back. He needed to focus so he could remember all the details he knew about the Devreme. Why would they kidnap John? What else could they ask of the Holmes? If only Ioan was awake enough that day to remember the conversation outside the car. The only thing he recalls is John’s voice, but it’s very weak.

Ioan sat on his bed and rubbed his face with his hands, sighing heavily with all the frustration he was feeling. The door for his bedroom opened and his sister came in with an excited expression on her usually cold face. Her long dark hair was in a ponytail, her arms behind her back and Ioan could smell dust. “What happened?” He asked curiously.

She didn’t answer at first, instead sitting down beside Ioan and putting a heavy book on his thigh. “I spent the entire night searching for this book! I knew they had it here!” She smiled broadly, which frightened Ioan, to be honest. “Brother, do you remember the stories we were told back there in Romania about the ancient legends involving the Devreme?”

“Some of them. I never paid too much attention”, Ioan confessed, still confused.

Iolanda rolled her eyes but there was no annoyance on her face. “When I first saw John I knew I recognized him from somewhere else, but I never gave it too much thought ‘cause it didn’t seem important. Anyway, I realized that you care deeply for him so I should do something to help getting him back. Then I thought why would the Devreme take him out of nothing? There must be a reason. So I kept thinking, and then I remembered the stories about the lost prince! And the image of John was associated with those memories, so I looked for this book.”

“Lost prince? What does John have anything to do with this?” Ioan questioned, frowning.

“I am telling you, be patient!” Iolanda snapped. “So, every vampire knows that many centuries ago there was the first vampire of all, Prince Vlad Dracul who was known for being cruel and evil. But most of us don’t know the reasons why he was that way.”

“Nothing is an excuse for—“ Ioan started but Iolanda cut him off.

“Yes, sure, but listen! The story says that Prince Vlad had a lover, and this lover came from a foreign land that no one knew. They loved each other more than anything in the world, and going against all the court’s opinion, Vlad named his lover Prince. From that day on he was known as Prince Vasile. Although the nobles didn’t like Prince Vasile, the commoners loved him. He was kind, gentle and merciful. Unfortunately, only a few months after his coronation, he became very sick. Prince Vlad was told the disease was incurable, that his love was fated to die soon. Refusing to accept that, Prince Vlad then went to the confines of the forbidden archive and found the dark book. It is said that this book was written by Egyptian slaves who knew all kinds of secret curses, including one for resurrection. The priests and his family tried to convince the prince not to do enact the curse. Some said it wouldn’t work, and others said it was going to bring great darkness to Prince Vlad. But for him, the greatest darkness of all was to be without the love of his life. So he enacted the curse.”

“He gently took some blood from Vasile, put it in a goblet and started to write the words the book said on the boy’s body with the blood. When the moribund prince gave his last breath, Vlad started to say the spell out loud as instructed. They say that there was a great storm that night, many ships were wrecked and never found; many birds lost their way home; many horses disappeared. But Vasile stayed dead. Vlad didn’t understand, he had done everything the book told him to do, and still his love was lifeless, and now painted in his own dried blood. Taken by rage, he threw the book out of the window, cursed god, cursed his family, cursed the world, and cursed himself for allowing his prince to die. Picking his own sword from its sheath, he stroke it into his gut. Seconds later his body was dead above the other prince’s now cold corpse.”

“Nobody knows for how long they stayed that way, bloody skin to bloody skin, corpse to corpse, but it was enough for something to happen. Some books say their blood mixed and that raised the spell, others say it was the prince’s sacrifice. Anyway what really matters is that they both woke up the next day, alive but… Different.”

“Like us. Vampires.” Ioan said. His eyes were wide in curiosity.

“Yes. It’s a big mystery really how it worked and which spell was used, or even if there was any kind of spell. Some new scientists actually believe that the disease that was supposed to kill Vasile mutated and turned him into a half-human half-animal creature, and then he bit Vlad that turned the same, and the chain started until this virus evolved again changing its aspects. Nothing is proved yet, and judging by the current circumstances there won’t be an answer soon. Anyway, going back to the story … Vasile and Vlad lived together for many more years until the war erupted. Vasile was a brave warrior and with his supernatural abilities he defeated many soldiers from the enemies’ armies. That attracted the attention of the other king who wanted to know more about the special powers Vasile showed in battlefield. Vlad wasn’t usually in combat; he ordered the others from the camping site and watched everything with his vampiric eyes. And with those eyes he saw when Vasile was circled by ten horses and while the young prince fought bravely and determinately, he was on foot and unarmed. Vlad took his own horse and rode as fast as he could to the scene, screaming all the time so everyone would go help Vasile, but when he arrived there… The only thing left of Vasile was his dark blue elm.”

“That was when Vlad became Vlad Tepes, the Impaler. He travelled most of the known world searched after Vasile, killing cruelly every single person who stayed in his way. Thousands of humans died by his hand, kingdoms were destroyed and still… No sign of Vasile. They say the last time Prince Vlad was seen was near Bigar Waterfall. Some say he jumped, others say he is still there waiting for his lost love.” Iolanda gave Ioan a sad look.

“And what do you think?” he asked.

“I think that…” She opened the big dusty book in a specific page and Ioan’s eyes couldn’t be wider.

The man on the painting looked almost exactly like John. There were some minor differences, like the hair – Vasile’s was longer – and the lips – Vasile’s were plusher – but it was quite obvious that they were doppelgangers. The reading on the border of the page said: Prince Vasile Dracul, the lost Vampire. Ioan turned his eyes to Iolanda and his mouth gaped, “So that means the Devreme…”

“Yes.” She said simply.

“We need to tell the Holmes now.” Ioan jumped out of bed holding the book and ran to the Manor.

Sherlock was seated on the armchair, holding one of John’s jumpers against his face, his body was perfectly still, but Ioan knew he was in deep pain. “Mr. Holmes?” Ioan called, trying to keep his voice as softer as possible.

The other vampire lifted his head and glared at Ioan with an intensity that would make the Romanian back away if he himself wasn’t the elder vampire “How dare you? Three seconds, that’s all I give for you go the fuck away,” Snapped Sherlock

“There’s something—“

“One…”

“You need to see—“

“Two…”

“About JOHN!”

“Th—“

Sherlock stopped and stood up, body ready to attack at any time. Iolanda suddenly appeared beside Ioan and her voice was steady but calm. “Mr. Holmes, look at the book and tell us what you think.” She took the object from her brother and walked to Sherlock, showing it to him.

Ioan noticed when the younger Holmes’ eyes changed glint. He stared at the picture for some minutes, his fingers tracing absently patterns on the page. Finally he closed his eyes and looked at the twins. It was clear that he understood everything. Sherlock Holmes was arrogant, intolerant, obnoxious, possessive, and cold, but not even his worst enemy could say he’s anything less than a genius. For the first time in his life, Ioan was glad about that, since it meant he wouldn’t need to explain the entire story.

Sherlock’s voice was sharp when he said, “When is the first flight to Romania?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vlad Tepes really existed, but all the other stuff is just my weird mind's creation lol


	13. Gods and Monsters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey you all!
> 
> Sorry it took me so long to update it! :(  
> Thank you all for the kudos/comments/bookmarks <3
> 
> A big especial thanks to mafm for betaing this chapter for me. *bear hugs*
> 
> I hope you all enjoy it (:

  


“ _In a land of gods and monsters I was an angel living in the garden of evil. Screwed up, scared. Doing anything that I needed. Shining like a fiery beacon.”_

_  
_

John wasn’t sure how he got to the room he found himself at when he opened his eyes. They probably drugged him or something, though he remembered nothing at all. The bedroom was large and looked like something out of a period film. Great windows with big purple curtains, copper angels on the ceiling, a beautiful red brick hearth, mahogany furniture, and the bed he was on would make any king size feel inadequate. Moreover, the sheets were golden with purple leafs printed on them. John’s eyes shone at the sight, but he knew he didn’t belong there. Right? He felt some kind of warmth when his feet touched the wooden floor. He walked slowly into the room until he saw something that scared and shook him like nothing he recalled ever experiencing before.

It was a painting. But what made John’s body tremble was not the magnificent piece of art, it was the men portrayed in it. The youngest one was all dressed in blue with silver armor, long blonde hair, and dark blue eyes. There was a sword at his feet and, shockingly, he looked exactly like John. The boy gasped and stepped forward. How could this person that probably lived many centuries ago look so much like John? He had heard of people who resembled others, but this was something else. He could _feel_ it. Somehow he knew how the outfit on the picture would feel against his skin, how heavy that sword would be in his hand, how warm the… John’s eyes turned to observe the older man in the portrait.

He was dressed in red with a black armor, also had a sword at his feet, and his face… John’s heart beat faster. The man had dark long hair and stubble, big beautiful brown eyes, and his features were very familiar to John, although the boy was sure he had never seen him before. _Bloody hell, he’s handsome_. John was surprised to feel a great wave of… longing? He couldn’t quite figure it out why he missed this person he had never met, but he certainly was feeling the emotion. Just looking at him made something in his body relax and constrict at the same time.

He reached his hand to touch the painting but retracted it when he heard someone knocking on the door. _What am I supposed to say?_ “Come in?” He walked to the bed and sat at the edge, hands on his thighs and brows furrowed. The rage he was feeling had vanished when he stared at the painting, but now it was back as he saw the same vampire who caught him on the road. He stood up immediately, hands fisted on his sides. “What the hell is going on?” John turned his head towards the picture, “and why the fuck does he look like me?”

The vampire, Stelian, bowed and smiled at John. “That’s because it is you, Your Grace. Prince Vasile.”

John shook his head. “I’m no prince, you know that. I’m John Watson from London, and I’m human.”

“It’s natural you think that, sir. You were lost for far too long, your memory suffered some injuries.” Stelian said with that annoying gentle smile.

“No, that’s not possible. I had a family! Take me home and I’ll show you some of my baby photos! I remember my childhood, you are crazy!” John’s face was flushed with irritation.

“Of course you do, sir, they hypnotized you”, Stelian said calmly. “Your family was not who you think they were.”

“What?!” John was now truly confused. What was happening to him?

“Edward, Melanie, and Harriet Watson were vampires, my lord. I just found out everything about them while you slept. Some of my spies investigated everything about you and they figured many things out. Things about which you have no knowledge.”

John laughed bitterly. “Oh gosh! Seriously? That’s the best you can do it? MY family were VAMPIRES?” John rubbed his face with his hands and continued to chuckle sadly.

“I know it’s hard to accept, but it’s the truth, sir. You were being kept under surveillance for another vampire family, not the Holmes and certainly not the Devreme. We still don’t know who they are, but the spies are on their way to find out, so don’t worry ab—“

John interrupted the vampire. “Excuse me?! Do you have any proof?”

“As a matter of fact, I have.” Stelian removed a folder from under his cloak and handled it to John. The boy took it suspiciously and opened it with narrowed eyes.

There was a black and white picture that dated from the sixties; a large group of people on it and in the middle of them John caught sight of his supposed mom, dad and sister. He gasped a little but didn’t let himself believe it so easily. He opened a little red diary that he immediately recognized as Harry’s. He remembered seeing her always being over protective with the object; John always thought it was because of her love affairs; he thought the book was lost, he searched but couldn’t find it anywhere before he moved on to Baker Street. His sister letter made his heart clench – he still missed her so much – but the words written there only served to make him feel even more bewildered.

“ _February 11 th_

_We found him passed out on the floor of a dark and damp alley. He looked so fragile and thin, but we could see the Devreme strength in him. They were right; he was indeed hostage of another group that had no idea what to do with him. We could smell the other vampires on his weak body. It’s going to take some time to hypnotize him, but we’re certain we will be able to do it._

_(…)_

_March 2 nd_

_It’s clear to us now that he had been through the hands of many vampire families, and they all messed with his head. I’m not sure which of them tried to make him forget and which tried to make him remember. All things considered, his abilities are still quite good._

_(…)_

_April 20 th_

_The plan is a success so far. He now believes he’s John Watson, a normal human teenager. It gave us some work, but we managed it. He thinks I’m his sister and that Edward and Melanie are his parents. We needed to choose the surname Watson, for obvious reasons our real clan name is not safe for him – or us, for that matter. He is doing fine. Father would be pleased to know, I wish he was awaken already._

_(…)_

_June 3 rd_

_We keep our routine so no problem can happen. John goes to school every day, but we discourage him from going out with friends; the fewer people know him the better. Melanie is giving him that horrifying tea she makes with her special herbs, it’s good to repress his powers, and it seems to be working. John even likes it. It figures!_

_(…)_

_July 25 th_

_This is it. John is ready. He hasn’t been having those nightmares anymore, and his mind seems clearer than it has been in ages. Now it will be easy for the Ancients to do their job on him. Well, the sad part – for John - is that we’ll have to ‘die’. Edward and Melanie took care of all the arrangements already. The official story John will hear from our contact at the police is that we died in a car crash and the coffins won’t be able to be opened because we’ll be all smashed into gore. I found that part cool._

_S is going to pick John at the end of the wake when he leaves the funeral. Whilst we’ll be far away getting our reward for completing such a challenging job. It has been the most difficult I have been given._

_And I must be honest: I won’t miss being Harry Watson.”_

John’s eyes were filled with tears. It couldn’t be… but it was. “H-how did you get this?” It was he could ask, with his eyes low and hands shaking a little.

“The spies I told you about. They cornered your ‘family’ but they ran before they could touch them or ask questions. This diary was amongst the things they left behind at the hotel at which they were staying”, Stelian explained.

Some of John’s tears ran through his face and he closed his eyes for a moment. “Which clan is this they’re talking about?”

“That’s what we’re trying to find out. Don’t worry, sir, soon we’ll have answers to all the questions we’ve been collecting through the years.” Stelian’s voice was serious but friendly and polite.

“Oh I have so many questions!” John couldn’t stop the tears from coming down. “I-I can’t be a vampire… See, I can cry, my heart beats, I have color on my cheeks...” John pointed at his face with quivering fingers.

Stelian nodded coolly. “Yes, my prince, but we’ll get your organism rid of the herb effects and you’ll see how you truly are.”

“B-But I don’t drink this tea she spoke about for a long time…” John tried to have some hope that this was all a big mistake, a misunderstanding, and that they were talking about another boy. Although he knew in his heart that they weren’t, that it was true.

“Some herbs are very powerful and can last for more than a year if given in significant quantity.” Stelian clasped his hands together, not a sign of anxiety, more of force of habit, apparently. “I’m sorry this is being thrown at you like this, but things will be clearer soon. We already have specialists to take care of your memory and reverse all the things that have been done to you.”

_John couldn’t say anything; he was in utter shock. He wanted Sherlock. Did his boyfriend know where he was? Would he come to rescue him? Would he still love John if he found out what he truly was? John sat on the bed again and covered his face with both his hands. The only thing he was thankful was that he ran from the funeral earlier than expected all those months ago to St. Bart’s rooftop. If he didn’t then the ‘S’ vampire would have caught him, and he wouldn’t have met Sherlock. _Baby, I’m so scared and I need you so much_. _Please come to me.__


	14. How You Remind Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everybody!
> 
> Sorry it took me so long to update it! I had some problems in the past week that disturbed my writing time, but I hope it gets better. (;
> 
> A huge thanks to mafm for betaing this chapter! It would look like a mess if it weren't for you! 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy it (:

 

“ _Tired of living like a blind man. I'm sick of sight without a sense of feeling. And this is how you remind me of what I really am.”_

 

**“ _Tomorrow, when we’re on the battlefield, I want you to wear this,” Vlad extended his hand so that Vasile could take the offered necklace._**

**_It was golden and heavy, with a ruby stone in the middle of a rounded pendant. Vasile turned it so he could read what was engraved on the back: “_ Mai mare decât moartea _.” Vasile smiled and, were he able, he knew he would be crying right there. They stared at each other, a thousand words and promises being silently conveyed. Finally, Vasile leaned to press a chaste kiss to his husband’s mouth before settling himself against his chair and putting the medallion around his neck. “Thank you,” he simply said._**

**_Vlad seemed to consider something before speaking, “If anything happens…” He started to say,but Vasile grabbed his hand and squeezed._ **

**“ _Don’t. Nothing will happen. We’ve fought so many battles before. Why do you find this different?” He asked, his voice gentle._**

**_Vlad sighed and ran his thumb on his prince’s hand. “This clan we’ll fight, they’re worse than any other enemy we might have had.”_ **

**“ _Why? I thought they were the usual evil.”_**

**“ _No, they are… Like us.” Vlad said, his low tone indicating his apprehension._**

**“ _Like us? You mean…”_**

**_Vlad nodded. “Yes. Which means they know how to properly_ destruct _us.”_**

**_Vasile closed his eyes for a moment. “But how… I thought we were the first ones.”_ **

**“ _We were. But do you remember when we used to lose control in the beginning? We hurt some people. This people probably hurt other people. And there you go, the disease spread.” Vlad said releasing his hand to stand up. He walked to the big windows and crossed his arms. “If they… if…”_**

**_Aware of Vlad’s unusual inarticulate speech, Vasile realized that his lover was truly disturbed about the upcoming battle. “No, my love. Don’t think about it.”_ **

**“ _No, Vasile. Listen!” Vlad abruptly turned, and using his abnormal speed he knelt before Vasile and cupped his face with both hands. “If they kill me, if they manage that. I don’t want you to search for revenge. I want you to go back to our fortress and call for help. Can you do that for me?”_**

**_Vasile shook his head. “No, I cannot, andyou know it. You can’t ask me to do that. Especially when I know you wouldn’t do the same if something were to happen to me.”_ **

**_Vlad’s face was severe, but he kept touching his prince’s cheeks. “I’m more experienced than you in battles, I would succeed in avenging you…”_ **

**“ _You’re telling me I wouldn’t succeed? Don’t underestimate me, Vlad.”_**

**“ _I’m stating facts, my love. Besides, even if I died trying to avenge you, it wouldn’t matter. I would go after you anyway.” Vlad said grimly._**

**“ _What do you mean?” Vasile frowned._**

**“ _I wouldn’t be able to keep going without you.”_**

\--

John woke breathing hard with an ache in his heart that made him feel sick. He usually remembered only flashes of his dreams and nightmares, but this … he could remember everything, scene by scene. In fact, it didn’t seem much as a dream, it felt more like a _memory_. Three days had passed since he had been kidnapped, and two days had passed since they started with the “regression” sessions. It was all just too weird, really. And it all happened inside his bedroom; actually he hadn’t left the room since he arrived. Stelian had told him he would have free pass through the castle once he was ready. John wasn’t sure what that meant, but somehow he felt he would find out soon.

The regression sessions were made by Stelian and two “doctors,” who John thought looked more like sorcerers, named Petru and Crina. Petru seemed to always wear a serious expression. It seemed like he didn’t quite appreciate John or what he was doing to John, rather he looked bothered every time they interacted. He did, however, appear to do the work as he was supposed to, according to Stelian. Petru was shorter than John, stocky, with rough features and with dark hair and beard. Crina was his opposite in every way. She was lean and tall, her short hair a light brown color, and she had hazel eyes. In stark constrast to Petru, she always seemed to have a smile on her face. Neither spoke English, so Stelian had to translate when they gave John instructions, although that wasn’t particularly common. Usually John just sat on his chair with his eyes closed while they smashed some plants and lit up some incenses, saying a few Romanian words like a spell. It seemed ridiculous to John; he thought they might get a wand out anytime, or maybe some witch hats. The thought made him smile, which earned him a light slap on his shoulder telling him to focus.

And focus he did. But nothing really happened in any of the sessions, rather, his mind started to recall memories when he was alone, and usually when he was sleeping.He had commented to Stelian about it on a recent morning, and was told that was how it was supposed to be.

“The sessions are just to free your mind from the hypnotic cage the others put you in. You will feel nothing different while they’re doing it, but your mind will be working anyway. It’s all very subtle and ancient, and we haven’t done something like this for a long time. Sinceyou’ve been lost for a long time it will act slowly.” Then Stelian gave John that gentle smile that had become quite familiary to John. “But worry not, my lord, everything is working as it should.”

John hesitated for a moment before he spoke, wondering if he should or not tell about his drea—memory. “Last night I… I had this dream that didn’t felt like a dream. I think it was a memory.”

Stelian’s face lightened up. “Would you mind telling more about it?”

“Well, I was…” He suddenly stopped, realized what he had just said. Clearing his throat he continued, “Vasile and Vlad were talking on the night before the final battle. The thing that caught my attention was a medallion that Vlad gave to Vasile. It was golden with a ruby stone in the middle. Have you ever seen it?”

Stelian looked surprised and then he nodded enthusiastically. “Only in paintings. It was lost with you, sir. You did as promised, you wore it at the battle, all the books say. I wonder who stole it from you.”

“I’m sorry”, John caught himself speaking without even thinking. Who was he apologizing for? _Vlad._ “I feel like… We need to find it. I think that if we find it we will find more answers, and maybe…”

Stelian tilted his head curious. “And maybe, sir?”

“Maybe we will find Vlad”, John said and was surprised at how his shoulders relaxed and his heart beat faster but not unpleasantly on his chest. What was happening? He missed a man he had never met. But he had, hadn’t he?

_I’m John Watson, even if it’s all a lie. That’s who I am._ He tried to convince himself of this every night and he generally believed it, but it was becoming difficult to just forget all the other things happening to him now. His life had changed drastically in a short time, but still he identified strongly with his human identity, always remembering everything he had been through with Sherlock. _Sherlock._ Every night he went to bed thinking about his boyfriend, when his eyes closed he always kept his soft dark curls, his beautiful silver eyes, his lean and strong body against John, his silk pale skin and how it felt when John touched it. But then as soon as his mind started wander in his sleep, the dark curls turned into a long brown hair, the silver eyes turned into chocolate ones, and the silk skin beneath his fingers turned into a stubble. John realized, then, that he was holding Vlad and not Sherlock. He always hated himself in the moment he woke up. But perhaps not as much as he should?

There was one night, though, that was different, that Vlad turned into Ioan. The dark hair and eyes were almost the same, but Ioan’s were brighter and filled with more light. John felt a deep comfort staring at them, and when his friend touched John’s face his fingertips were warm, which was an impossible, since vampires were cold-blooded. But Ioan was never quite a common vampire, was he? He liked and valued John’s humanity. What would he think if he found out John wasn’t human? John shook his head at the thought. He didn’t want to lose Ioan, but he understood him. The blonde wasn’t feeling particularly accepting of himself anyway, lately.

“Time for the session, my lord. May I call them in?” Stelian asked him, standing up.

John nodded. What choice did he have? Part of him wanted to erase all of the new discoveries and just keep living in ignorance. But another part wanted to know more about his old life, about his true nature, about his…

A loud noise took him out of his reveries. There some muffled voices coming from outside his room and the next thing he saw was Petru and Crina entering the room with frightened and slightly irritated expressions, their postures rigid and with their arms held above their heads. John stood up from his bed, “What’s going on?”

They just kept staring at him like they didn’t know what to say - or maybe couldn’t? Stelian entered next, sporting a bruise above his eyebrow, which bothered John who was becoming fond of the vampire. But then all of his thoughts disappeared in the moment the next person came inside the room.

_“John!”_


	15. A Beautiful Lie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi people!
> 
> Thank you all for the support! And also a huge thanks to mafm for editing this chapter, without you it would all be a mess lol
> 
> So, I'm guessing one more chapter to go and we're done with this part, but definetely not done with the series. I have big plans!
> 
> I hope you enjoy it (:

 

_“Everyone's looking at me. I'm running around in circles. A quiet desperation's building higher. I've got to remember this is just a game.”_

 

John couldn’t believe his eyes. Sherlock – his gorgeous, brilliant boyfriend – was in front of him. No, he was pulling John to himself, holding the boy tightly. The blonde hid his face on the vampire’s strong chest. He had missed being wrapped in his arms, more than words could express. For a moment John forgot all about the huge mess they were in, and that Sherlock had broken into the castle and taken John’s new friends hostage. What mattered was he was reunited with his love again. After some time Sherlock kissed the top of his head and then his lips, caressing John’s cheeks gently.

“John”, there was so much longing and desperation in only this one word that the blonde’s body trembled. Sherlock held him tighter. “It’s okay, my love. I’ll take you out of here. It’s alright.”

John felt a sting to his heart at the words, which he preferred to ignore. What mattered now were only Sherlock and him. John’s eyes ran behind Sherlock and he saw Ioan standing by the door, a worried and anxious look on his face, which was quite unusual for the stalwart vampire. John pulled away from Sherlock instinctively but gently and walked towards his friend. Ioan gasped in surprise when the blonde hugged him tight. “I’m so happy you’re alright. I saw how you were… burned…” John’s eyes were filling with tears at his memory of Ioan’s wounded body and John’s inability to help.

Ioan hugged him back and kissed the top of his head lightly. “Don’t worry about me. How are you? Okay?” The dark haired vampire smiled.

John nodded. Because yes, he, oddly, was fine.

“John! Come on.” Sherlock growled grabbing his arm to pull him away from Ioan.

John shrugged his grip. “Stop, Sherlock. Now’s not the time for jealousy”, John said seriously.

“Indeed. We need to go before the other guards appear.” Ioan said and was preparing to go when Stelian spoke.

“You really think you’re getting away with it, Anghelescu ?”

All the people in the room turned to look at Stelian who, despite his bruises, looked quite amused by something. His eyes focused on Ioan. John was confused. “Anghelescu? That’s your last name, Ioan? Do you know each other?”

Ioan seemed tense, his mouth a thin line and his expression a mixture of shock and shame. Stelian chuckled and looked at John. “Yes, my prince. Ioan and Iolanda are old friends of the Devreme.”

“Never”, Ioan hissed.

“Okay, not friends. But certainly informers,” Stelian smiled.

John frowned. “What?”

“I knew it! I told Mycroft to never put his trust on you and your sister. There was always something that smelled off about you both,” Sherlock snarled, nearly baring his teeth to Ioan. “The only reason I won’t kill you right now is that you helped me to get to John. But if you dare to talk to him or me again I’ll break you to pieces! You have three seconds to get out of my sight. Take your sister with you, if the guards didn’t take her already!”

“Stop it, Sherlock!” John intervened. “Ioan is my friend and I’m sure anything he did was…”

“John! Don’t be blind! He is a traitor! He brought this to all of us. It’s his fault everything that happened to you. Can’t you see?” Sherlock tried to grab John by the shoulders but the boy pushed his hands away.

“Yes, he made a mistake. But we are all imperfect!” John exclaimed. “Don’t pretend you are not! I know the real meaning of your bites on my neck!”

Sherlock seemed taken aback by the declaration. His mouth opened, but he seemed unable to say anything. Stelian took the chance to speak again. “My prince, neither of these vampires is good enough for you. I must say th—“

“Shut up!” Sherlock shouted.

“Keep going”, John demanded in a cold tone. He didn’t even bother to look at Sherlock. He wanted to hear the rest, though he wasn’t sure why.

“We don’t have time, John! We need to get out of this place now”, Sherlock tried to take John’s hand but the boy – again – pushed his boyfriend away dismissively.

“They won’t hurt me. And they won’t hurt you two, because I won’t allow them to do so. I want to hear what Stelian has to say and you can’t stop me. In fact, you should stop trying to stake your claim on me all the time, not only biting, but grabbing and touching. It’s like I’m some kind of object you can move around! I am not yours, Sherlock. Trust me when I say that.”

They all stared at John oddly, like he was an alien. The blonde boy had no idea where all that confidence came from. Well, he had some idea. He felt stronger in the castle than he felt in any other place. All the memories and all the objects were here, he perceived himself differently already. Where he used to be uncertain, there was now certainty; where he used to be insecure, there was now security; where he once had weakness, there was now strength. He couldn’t say that he felt like a vampire, though, he still thought of himself as human despite everything. But he knew that when he finally turned to his original self, he would be greater than all of them together and this thought made him shiver.

“Please, go on, Stelian”, he said it when nobody dared to speak for some time.

“Sherlock Holmes and Ioan Anghelescu are both definitely determined candidates for your company, but they are far from being dignified. The Holmes clan is famous for killing and despising humans for centuries, and their maker Victoria was one of the cruelest vampires I ever knew. I must say, from what I have seen, they are just like her. I know you don’t think that because they changed so much after they met you and Gregory Lestrade, but the only difference is that now they go hunting in secret.” John looked at Sherlock who seemed to be struck by the Romanian’s words. He didn’t speak, however, so Stelian continued. “The Anghelescu are quieter, it’s true, but they are also infamous in this world, especially because they never seem to choose a side. You see, my prince, it was because of Ioan that your friend Lestrade was kidnapped. He told the Devreme his name.” John’s eyes now turned to look at his friend who didn’t look him back, but rather just kept staring at the floor. “I am truly sorry about it, I don’t want to see you hurt, sir, but I can’t be quiet and let you go with lies.”

John nodded. “Thank you, Stelian.”

He closed his eyes for a moment. What was he supposed to do? He loved Sherlock, but he was rather upset about the things he found out, and with the way his boyfriend had been treating him lately. He also loved Ioan, he was a good friend, John could forgive him for bringing trouble to him, but what about Lestrade? The detective certainly suffered a lot too. And then there was Vlad.

“John…” Sherlock started with a low voice.

John looked at him and narrowed his eyes. He crossed his arms and walked towards the painting. Somehow seeing it made him feel calmer, and warmer. He needed to clear his mind. Part of him wanted to leave, but another part wanted to stay so he could figure out everything else about his past with his prince.

“John, I’m sorry, but…” Sherlock said coming closer to John’s back, but he stopped abruptly when he got near the painting John was currently staring. The vampire stayed oddly quiet behind the blonde, so John turned his head to look at his boyfriend. Sherlock looked quite scared, or possibly surprised or stunned,

“What is it?” John asked.

Sherlock’s eyes slowly returned to John’s face. “I know him.”


	16. Clocks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!
> 
> I'm so sorry it took me ages to update this! I had some trips, work and lots of classes so I couldn't sit and finish, ugh! But finally the second part's ending is here! Yes, there will most definitely have a part three, and I already have big plans for it!
> 
> I want to thank you all for being awesome and commenting or leaving a bookmark and kudo! (:
> 
> A gigantic THANK YOU SO MUCH for mafm for editing this and several other chapters. You're great and if it weren't for you it would all be a chaos!
> 
> Well, that's it. I really hope you enjoy this ending, and I hope you stick to the series! :D

 

 “ _Confusion that never stops, closing walls, and ticking clocks. Gonna come back and take you home; I could not stop that you now know. Come out upon my seas. Cursed missed opportunities. Am I a part of the cure? Or am I part of the disease?”_

 

“What do you mean, you know him?” John asked, confused.

Sherlock frowned and shook his head. “But it cannot be. This is Prince Vlad Tepes, isn’t it?”

John nodded, his chest clenching oddly at his boyfriend speaking his… late husband’s name? Maybe, John thought, he should get out of this place indeed, and just forget all about his true self and his past. His present was good enough; he had a home, school, and Sherlock. So why did his entire body felt sick when he even thought about leaving the place? He didn’t belong here. He belonged in England with Sherlock. Right? For he was John Hamish Watson and not Prince Vasile. Wasn’t he? John’s head was spinning.

“I met someone once that looked just like him. But that was a long time ago, in 1878.” Sherlock’s voice was distracted, as he didn’t take his eyes off of the painting.

“That’s not possible, if Prince Vlad had awakened he would have contacted the Devreme by now”, Stelian spoken from behind them.

“This man you met, was he a vampire? Do you know?” John asked, ignoring Stelian’s objection.

“Yes. And he was not a good one.” Sherlock said, finally turning to look at John.

“What do you mean?” John clasped his hands together.

Sherlock twisted his lips as if considering what to say next. “Most vampires despise human lives, it’s true. But he was different, as he did not only despise humans, he also despised vampires. He was not the typical bully – loud and stupid. No, he was quiet and observant. He was intelligent, to say the least, and that’s why I found it interesting to start a conversation with him.” Sherlock stopped talking and just looked at John for a while before he slowly continued. “We talked, I changed my mind about befriending him, and I went away.”

John’s brows furrowed. “That’s it? What was his name? Why did you change your mind? Did he say something odd?”

“Why do you want to know, John? It doesn’t really matter, does it? You belong with me, in London. Forget all of this. Come on, we need to go.” Sherlock tried to grab John’s wrist but the boy shoved him away.

“It matters to me! How would you feel if you found out everything in your life was made up? All lies?! That you’ve a become a stranger to yourself? I can’t just forget ‘all of this’, because ‘all of this’ is me! So stop being such a selfish git and tell me what you remember. Everything you remember.” John glared coldly at Sherlock, his tone even and determined.

Sherlock seemed taken aback for a moment, and he looked down before returning his eyes to John again. “I don’t…”

Suddenly, loud noises invaded the relative peace of the castle. . It sounded like several heavy people were running around, and when John turned his head he could see Ioan leaving the room in a hurry. Hisdeparture was followed by the fierce sound of fighting that would have impressed John some weeks ago, but now did nothing but annoy him. “Stelian, tell them to stop!” John asked.

“I can’t, sir. Anghelescu and Holmes are threats and must be contained”, the vampire said calmly.

“They are my friends! Ask them to stop right now. Nobody needs to get hurt.” John tried again.

“They are trying to get you away from here, sir, and that’s…” Stelian started but was cut off by a very imposing John.

“As your prince and sovereign, I command you to do as I say!” John’s tone was loud, clear, and commanding.

Stelian gazed at him for some moments before bowing. “Absolutely, sir.” And then he left the room, followed by the other two confused vampires.

John panted and closed his eyes for a minute. That felt good. He never knew it would be so great, so powerful, so intoxicating to give orders, but it felt wonderful. And quite natural, like he’d barked orders at vampires a thousand times before. Maybe he had. _Vasile had, not John Watson_ , he remembered himself. _What’s the difference?_ Another part of him said. His mind was confused, and his thoughts were chaotic, but his self-esteem definitely surged with this development. Rubbing his temples with his fingertips, John looked back at Sherlock,who was staring at him in a peculiar, quizzical way. “Go on”, John prompted.

Sherlock hesitated, running his hand through his dark curls. “He said his name was James. Like I said, he was terrible, John. You wouldn’t want anything to do with him.”

“So why did you? What did you two discuss?” John crossed his arms and stared at Sherlock. There was something odd in this story, something that just seemed off.

Sherlock closed his eyes briefly. “John…”

“No more ‘John’, just spit it out, Sherlock.”

Sherlock sighed worriedly but started to speak nonetheless. “Fine. But you won’t like what I’m about to tell you.” Sherlock waited for John to say something but the boy just stared at him. “Alright. He was older than me, how much I don’t know, but definitely enough older to realize that I was a vampire like him. We met at a party full of people – humans - from high society. I was only at the party because Victoria and Mycroft were trying to get information from a particular guest. You can imagine how everything was extremely dull to me. So when James came to talk to me and offer a… well, a bet, I accepted it.” Sherlock hesitated before continuing to speak. “Now John, you need to understand I was younger and less…”

“What bet?” John cut off his protests. His cool tone of voice urged Sherlock to cut to the chase.

Sherlock lowered his eyes. “Whichever of us seduced and drained the most people that night, before the party was over, would win. And the loser would give the winner a valuable item. I know, John. It’s disgusting, terrible and shameful…”

“But you did it, didn’t you? You took the bet?” John’s tone was not judgmental, only serious.

“Yes, I did.” Sherlock answered without looking John in the eyes. “We needed to get… the person’s little finger to prove we killed them. By the end of the night I was utterly full, but James seemed quite comfortable. He congratulated me and told me I had potential.” Sherlock gave a bitter laugh.

“Who won?” John didn’t even know why he asked it, but he did anyway.

“James. He managed to take 23 lives. I took 20. Together we erased more than one third of the party. I suffered through a long lecture from Victoria and Mycroft that night when they found out what I had done.” Sherlock stared at his hands.

“What about James? What happened to him?” John’s tone was less harsh and more curious now.

“I tried to give him one family ring that didn’t really matter to me, but he said he refused it. He said that he was only having fun, but that for a newborn vampire I quite impressive and had a ‘bright’ future ahead. So, because he apparently saw promise in me, he decided to give me one of his possessions. He said that if I ever wanted to ‘play’ again, all I needed to do was drip a drop of blood onto it. I had considered doing it several times, but my better judgment always convinced me not to.” Sherlock finally looked at John.

The blonde snorted, “better judgment.” How can a vampire who killed 20 people in one night even purport to have “better judgment?” John shook his head. He didn’t want to resent Sherlock. The man was his boyfriend, and despite all his failures, John still loved him very much. But some things were hard to simply forgive and forget. Suddenly, an idea struck John when he rethought Sherlock’s narration. “Was this possession a golden medallion with a ruby in the middle, by any chance?” He asked.

“No. It was a medallion, yes, but it was silver with a sapphire in the middle.”

“Do you still have it?” John wasn’t sure why he was asking, since the description didn’t meet his medallion. Well, the medallion he remembered.

“Yes. I keep it with me actually, just in case I’m in deep trouble and need a backup. Although I never really thought I was going to use it. Maybe the truth is that I keep it near to me to remind me of a dark past I don’t want go come back to.” Sherlock said seriously. John couldn’t help but notice an adorable wrinkle between Sherlock’s eyebrows that made John’s heart flutter for a moment.

There was again some background noise behind the closed doors but John ignored it for now. “May I see it?” He asked. _Why do I want to see it so badly? It won’t change anything. I should just get the hell out with Sherlock. Maybe he’s right, maybe I should just leave this behind. Ugh, I don’t really want this, do I?”_

Sherlock didn’t answer, but instead reached into his suit’s inner pocket and produced the medallion. He gave it to John, who took it without thinking. It should have surprised him that this medallion seemed like a smaller and different colored version of Vasile’s, but it didn’t. Somehow, it was exactly what he expected to see. He grabbed the gem with both hands and noticed that the stone reflected his own eyes. A wave of sadness threated to overcome him, and his legs trembled a bit. The next thing he was aware of was Sherlock’s strong arms holding him from behind. Not in a possessive way, more of a soothing one.

“I’m here, John. I’m sorry this is all happening to you. I’m sorry I am a terrible person who is far from deserving your love, but please let’s discuss this at home. Come with me, please.” Sherlock’s baritone tone spoke softly in his ear, pleadingly.

Before John could reply, the door was harshly thrown opened and purple coats were flooding the room. They were armed with swords, spears, and some weapons John had only seen in movies set in medieval times. The purple coats all stopped a few meters from the couple, and from behind them emerged a very tall vampire with long white hair and red eyes. He was the scariest person John had ever seen, not only because of his fearsome features, but also because of his terrifying presence. _This one is used to intimidating others, but who the hell is he?_

Suddenly Stelian was hurriedly stepping up beside the man. His face had turned into a grimace, and he looked apprehensive and maybe a little sad. “Sir, I am sorry, but…” He started to say to John, but the white haired vampire cut him off with brusque, dismissive hand.

As soon as the vampire’s eyes registered John’s face, his expression changed from angry to surprised. For a moment his mouth opened and John thought he would say something, but immediately the surprised expression was replaced by a cold glare with lips in a thin hard line. The surprise had entirely shifted to rage. “Prince Vasile… What an honor”, he spoke in a mocking tone dripping with derision.

“Why do I find it difficult to believe you?” John snapped back.

The man gave him a dark grin. “Truth be told, I was never fond of you. Seems like I was right from the very start.”

John couldn’t give a damn about who liked or disliked him right now. “Where’s Ioan?”

“Oh, he will have what he asked for”, the vampire said sounding very pleased.

“And so will you if you don’t let him go now!” John exclaimed. Sherlock tighten his hands around his waist.

The vampire laughed out loud, and it was a terrible, loathsome sound. “You really think you have any kind of power here? You have NONE!”

John didn’t retreat after the shout of the last word. But Sherlock released John and got between him and the vampire. “Eugen Devreme. Of all of yours siblings, you are the one of whom I have heard the least. I wonder why”, his boyfriend said.

The vampire – Eugen – bared his teeth to Sherlock. “The Holmes Clan. I’ve always despised you. I think it’s time for the cockroaches to be smashed.” He gestured for the guards behind to move on, but John jumped in the eye of the storm before the violence began.

“Stop it!” He screamed before reaching his palm in an appeasing way. “You don’t want this to happen, Eugen. Let Ioan and Iolanda go, and step aside right now.”

“Or?” Eugen smirked. “I am not my ignorant brother who actually thinks you’re worth the trouble. You mean nothing to me and I’d be glad to tear you apart limb from limb.”

“You’ll be headless before you can give the order”, Sherlock snarled, his fangs down.

“I AM the oldest vampire here! I…”

“Wrong”, John said giving a few steps towards the Devreme. “ _I_ am.”

Taking everyone by surprise, John held the medallion squeezed it as hard as he could. The sharp silver circle cut the palm of his hand, staining the sapphire stone with his crimson blood. John lowered his hand, holding the jewel tightly by its chain. He lifted his head to stare at the Devreme in the eye. “Last chance, Eugen.”

The old vampire seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if considering what John just did. The blonde could sense Sherlock’s tense body beside his, although his boyfriend knew better than to say a word at this time. Eugen stepped forward until he was a mere few centimeters from John and glowered down at him. “I’ll be smiling when they rip your pretty head from your little body.” Eugen pulled away a fraction only to shout. “Paznici, atac!”

But before any of Eugen’s guards could land a single blow on John or Sherlock, loud screams filled the air. John could hear fast footsteps running outside the room, and what sounded like a lot of confusion and chaos. John was so distracted by the sudden noises outside that he only noticed Eugen had attacked him when he felt an extremely strong grip on his throat, lifting him from the floor. Sherlock bolted to help John but one of the guards threw a spear at him, hitting him in the shoulder.

“What did you do?!” Eugen exclaimed.

John didn’t have a chance to answer him. Suddenly a figure with an unhuman speed blazed through the room, and in a blink of an eye there were several corpses on the floor, a gruesome mixture of heads and hearts spread all over the place. Eugen’s hand was still holding John’s throat but when the boy turned his eyes to look at the vampire, he yelped. There was no Eugen, only a gooey and red mass on the ground where the Devreme was standing. John threw the mutilated hand away from his neck and knelt beside Sherlock, who had just removed the spear from his bony shoulder. “Are you okay?” John asked his boyfriend but the man was busy looking with wide eyes to something behind the boy.

John turned his head and his mouth gaped at the sight of big brown eyes staring right through him. The last thing he heard was a soft and low voice speaking his name, and he wasn’t even sure if the name was John or Vasile anymore. Then it was all black.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The songs used for the titles and the pieces before the chapters helped me a lot during the process of creation, I highly recommend you to listen to them. So in case you don't know some, here is the complete list:
> 
> Kings and Queens by 30 seconds to Mars
> 
> 1\. Zombie by The Cranberries  
> 2\. The sound of silence by Simon and Garfunkel  
> 3\. Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield  
> 4\. Some Nights by Fun  
> 5\. Never Think by Rob Pattinson  
> 6\. Demons by Imagine Dragons  
> 7\. Everybody Hurts by REM  
> 8\. A Thousand Years by Christina Perri  
> 9\. Up in the Air by 30 seconds to Mars  
> 10\. Bleed it Out by Linkin Park  
> 11\. Far From Any Road by The Handsome Family  
> 12\. The Ghost of You by My Chemical Romance  
> 13\. Gods and Monsters by Lana Del Rey  
> 14\. How You Remind Me by Nickelback  
> 15\. A Beautiful Lie by 30 seconds to Mars  
> 16\. Clocks by Coldplay

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm more than glad to know what you think about the chapter! (;


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